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JAN 14 1918 



The Greater Life and Work 
of Christ 



As Revealed in Scripture, Man and Nature 



BY 

Alexander Patterson 



CHRISTIAN ALLIANCE PUBLISHING CO. 
692 Eighth Avenue, New York 



3TZ0I 



Copyrighted, 1896 
CHRISTIAN ALLIANCE PUBLISHING CO. 



PREFACE. 



It will be seen at a glance that this is not a life 
of Christ in the usual sense. It is not a review of the 
events of the earthly existence of our Lord. There 
is a greater life and a larger work of Christ of which 
his life on earth is but a single chapter. While no 
apology is needed for any publication of the great 
theme of the gospel, it may be stated that there is a 
special reason for such a book as this. The author 
has examined many works on Christ and lists of hun- 
dreds more, and has conferred with competent liter- 
ary authorities, and has learned of few works, if 
any, covering this greater life and work of Christ. 
Such a study of Christ should be available. The 
author presents this, hoping it may in some measure 
supply the need, and lead to further presentation of 
this great theme by more competent students. 

There are still greater and more vital reasons for 
such a review of Christ. The Eternal Christ is the 
theme of Scripture, and not the Christ of the gospels 
simply. Until this is seen, the Bible will be an 
enigma. The study of the Bible should therefore 
begin with him who is its Alpha as well as its Omega 
This book is a study of Scripture from this standpoint. 
It covers the whole Bible narrative, not in an at- 
tempt to mention all details, but only the great per- 
sonages, events, and crises in which the person and 
work of Christ are seen. 

[5] 



6 PREFACE. 

It follows from Christ's place in Scripture that he 
is also the center of all Christian doctrine. Every 
truth radiates from him. A discussion of the work of 
the Eternal Christ necessarily involves a considera- 
tion of collateral truths. This book therefore con- 
tains an outline of the Christian doctrines studied 
from the historical base line of the eternal life of 
Christ, and running concurrent with his work from 
the development of which they spring. 

A right conception of Christ is necessary to a 
right view of every doctrine of the Christian faith. 
Wrong or defective views of Christ will affect every 
other truth. Heresy begins with, or is based upon, 
such wrong ideas of Christ. Not only all Christian 
belief but all the philosophy of life is involved in the 
question, "What think ye of Christ?" Every prob- 
lem and question arising among men may and should 
be studied from the Christological standpoint. 

A more vital because a more personal reason calls 
for a study of the Eternal Christ. The believer's per- 
sonal welfare and growth are in proportion to his 
knowledge of Christ. The spiritual nature may be 
stunted by being kept in a narrow range of truth as 
surely as poisoned by error. The soul must be fed 
by continually advancing study. The common evan- 
gelical presentation of the rudiments of the gospel is 
not intended as the only or sufficient subject of the 
Christian's consideration. We are therefore ex- 
horted, ' ' Let us cease to speak of the first principles 
of Christ, and press on unto perfection." The gospel 
is robbed of its power and attractiveness by being 
narrowed down to a few themes and aspects. 



The great stimulant, corrective, and sustenance of 
the spiritual nature is the knowledge of Christ. To 
this the apostles continually urge, intending as we 
more fully apprehend Christ, we shall personally ap- 
propriate him, and so attain to the "measure of the 
stature of the fulness of Christ." It will be found that 
this intellectual apprehension of Christ will minister 
to the emotional reception and manifestation of him. 
The final goal of the Christian's faith, hope, and love 
is God the Father. To bring us to the Father was 
Christ's work. He does this by the revelation of God 
in himself. But it is himself in all the many phases 
of his character, of which the gospel narrative is but 
one. Christ there was • ' God manifest in the flesh, " 
but in the flesh only, and only so far as flesh can 
manifest God. But there are revelations of Christ, 
and hence of God, which flesh cannot make by reason 
of its limitations. These are seen only in the Eternal 
Christ. 

The great defect in the study of Christ is to con- 
sider him in but a single chapter of his life and work. 
It has been a great mistake to rest the proof and 
teaching of the nature and work of Christ upon this 
one revelation of himself, precious as it is. A defect- 
ive conception of Christ is almost as dangerous as a 
false one. Indeed, all the heresies, fanaticisms, and 
dwarfed experiences may be traced to partial rather 
than false views of Christ. The great cure for all 
the errors of doctrine and defects of experience will 
be found to be the full presentation, knowledge, and 
reception of the Eternal Christ in all the many phases 
of his work and nature. 



8 PREFACE. 

While this does not profess to be a critical work, 
it has been prepared with care. Every passage of 
Scripture quoted has been closely examined with the 
aid of approved critical authorities, and no view 
adopted without good outside warrant. Over sev- 
enty authors and works have been quoted and many 
more consulted. The author rests, however, upon 
Scripture alone for all final conclusions, feeling that 
this is the court of last resort in all revealed truth. The 
Revised Version has been exclusively used and quoted. 
This is a comparatively small book for so great and 
extended a theme. It is purposely made so. The 
author's desire is to show, if possible, in a compara- 
tively brief review, the entire course of the great Life 
as far as it has been revealed, and as the author has 
apprehended it. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Preface 5 

Introduction 13 

Christ a development in Scripture (13) — The many 
views possible (14) — Outline of the Eternal Life (14). 

CHAPTER I. 

Christ in the Eternal Past 17 

Mystery of the Eternal Past (17)— First light upon it 
—Christ "in the bosom of the Father" (18)— "Before 
the foundation of the world" (20) — "Framing the 
ages" (21) — "First-born of all creation" (22)— "The 
Word" (24). 

CHAPTER II. 

THE WORD. 

Christ in Creation 27 

Creation, the work of the threefold Godhead (27) — 
Christ's part— "The Master Workman" (28)— The Six 
Day s' work(32) — Evolution not Christ's method in either 
the natural or spiritual world ( -6) — Objections to it (37) 
— Scriptural narratives literal (47) — Testimony of 
Christ and New Testament writers (48)— The Bible a 
scientific book (49) — Creation of man and woman (52) 
— Plan of creation was Christ (59)— Christ and the gos- 
pel are revealed in nature (63). 

CHAPTER III. 

JEHOVAH. 

Christ in the Oi.d Testament Age 69 

Jehovah was Christ (69)— Fellowship with Adam (71) 
Some reasons why God permitted the Fall (74) — Adam's 
gospel (81)— The greater Fall in Heaven (82)— What 
the serpent was (83)— The Fall (84)— Why Adam did 
not die (88)— Christ and the Antediluvian World (91)— 
The Flood (93)— The religion of Babel (96)— Christ and 
Abraham (9 .)— Beginning of the church (97)— The 
Covenant (98)— Abraham's gospel (99)— The beginning 
of grace (101)— Christ's purpose and plan with Israel 
(101)— Christ in Moses (109)— Christ in Joshua (111)— 
Destroying theCanaanites(112) — The ideal social state 
(115) — Christ in David (117) — Christ in the prophets 
(121)— World mission of Israel (123)— Christ's work for 
the heathen in the Old Testament age (123)— Results 
of that age (125)— Uses of the Law (126). 



10 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

JESUS. 

Christ in His Earthly Life 128 

The four O.d Testament gospels (128)— Why Christ 
had to come (131)— Humiliation of Christ in heaven 
^132)— Descent of Christ to the lowest level (135)— Birth 
of Christ as seen from heaven and earth (136) — The Vir- 
gin Mary; her cross (137) — Joseph, the first "Christo- 
pher'^^)— Jesus' silent years, growth, education, trade, 
as seen by neighbors; struggles and temptations (140) — 
Coming to consciousness of himself (144) — Meaning of 
his baptism (146)— The temptation (149)— Breaking 
home ties (151) — How Jesus lived, acted, looked; man- 
ner, disposition (152) — Mission to Israel (154) — Jesus 
and the Old Testament (154) — Argument of probabil- 
ities (155)— Jesus and the church (158)— The world's 
gospel (160) — Testimony of unbelievers to Jesus (162) 
— His claims for himself (163) — How Jesus revealed 
God (165) — Subordination to God (168)— Gethsemane, 
its three temptations, spiritual, psychical, and phys- 
ical (172) -Jesus and Judas (180)— The crucifixion (183) 
Guilt of Jesus' death (187)— Jesus between the death 
and resurrection (188) — The scene of the resurrection 
(189) — The three resurrection gifts to the apostles (194) 
— Many acts and appearances of Jesus in the forty 
days (197) — Ascension view of Jerusalem, Israel, and 
the world (200) — Christ's visit to the spirits in prison 
(202)— Christ's reception in heaven (207) — His work 
there affecting man, heaven, and Satan (208) — Christ's 
Pentecostal gifts to the Church (209). 

CHAPTER V. 

jesus christ. 

Christ in His Present State and Work 213 

The three revelations of the New Testament (213)— 
Titles of Christ in the Epistles (214)— Difference be- 
tween the gospel to Israel, the world, and the church 
(216) — Apostles' omission of earthly life and words of 
Jesus (219)— Disregard of Mosaic Law (222)— Meaning 
of death of Christ for the world (226)— Christ's resurrec- 
tion the corner stone of Christianity (232) — Why apos- 
tles disregarded social reforms (236) — Is the Sermon 
on the Mount the gospel? (240) — Christ as preached by 
apostles to the Church (241)— Peculiar relationship to 
the Church (241)— The living Christ (244)— Intercession 
(246)— Christ's work in the believer (251)— Christ's 
work with the Church (254) — The Kingdom as por- 
trayed by Christ (257) — Preparation of the world for 
the gospel (266) — Why the world has not been con- 
verted (268)— Net results of this age (275)— Christ's 
purpose in our age (278) — Christ's present attitude to 
the future (282). 



CONTENTS. 1 1 

CHAPTER VI. 
the king of kings and i.ord of lords. 

Christ in the Day of the Lord 385 

The Day of the Lord the theme of all Scripture (285) 
— The Christ of the future as preached by the apostles 
(287) — Why neglected now (289)— "Spiritualizing" 
scripture (290) — John the prophet of the Day of the 
Lord (292)— The Apocalypse (293)— Names and titles 
of Christ in the Apocalypse (294) — Interpretations of 
the Apocalypse (297)— Day of the Lord (299)— Premoni- 
tory signs of the Day of the Lord (301) — The coming 
of Christ (302)— The Christ of the Revelation (305)— 
Christ and the resurrection and translation of the 
Church (306)— Christ's judgment of the Church (314)— 
Judgment of Christendom (319) — Rise of Antichrist 
(325)— Rise of the false church (326)— Judgment on the 
nations (330) — Judgment on the Apostate Church (332) 
— The first resurrection (334) — Overthrow of Anti- 
christ (337)— Israel (343)— Judgment of the nations (345) 
—Millennium (347)— The final conflict (356)— Christ in 
the judgment of the Great White Throne (359)— De- 
struction of the world by fire (363) — Problem of the 
lost (365) — Review of Christ's work on earth (368). 

CHAPTER VII. 

Christ in the Eternal Future 370 

The eternal state (370)— Christ's gain (372)— His new 
name (373) — Arrangement of the spiritual temple (373) 
— A material heaven (378) — The new earth this planet 
(383)— Restored humanity (384)— The place of the new 
earth in the heavens changed (393) — Christ giving up 
the kingdom to God (395) — Christ's continued work in 
eternity (396)— Peopling the stars (397)— The eternal, 
universal Fatherhoods (403) — The varying ages of 
eternity (405). Conclusion. 

Appendix 409 

Indexes — 

Topical 411 

Textual 414 



NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



The wide and generally favorable comment upon this 
book has been to the author a source of gratification. For all 
this attention, whether favorable or otherwise, he desires here 
to express his thanks. Some just criticisms have been made 
by which he has profited. Some criticisms have not appeared 
well supported. Two of these — one upon the author's view 
of the Six Day work of Creation, and another upon the 
statement of Christ's coming- to consciousness of himself — 
have been replied to in notes in the Appendix. 

Topical and Textual Indexes have been added. 

It has been especially pleasing to the author that spirit- 
ually minded and Bible loving people have been the most 
appreciative readers of this book. It is a great privilege to 
feed the flock, and in that any such have been helped by this 
book a great purpose is served. 

Alexander Patterson. 

Chicago, September 1, 1898. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The purpose of Scripture is the glory of God in 
the welfare of all created things by the revelation of 
himself and his will to them concerning them. The 
means of this revelation is Christ. He is not only 
the conveyor of the revelation but the revelation 
itself. Christ is then the theme of Scripture. 

The history of Christ in Scripture is a develop- 
ment. His picture is seen to grow from point to 
outline, from outline to feature, from feature to a liv- 
ing, moving, speaking form. We can see in the open- 
ing chapters of Genesis by the plural forms of names 
and pronouns applied to God that there are more 
than one present. As the narrative advances, a sec- 
ond person becomes clearly discernible. He assumes 
a name, and is seen and heard. After a time he 
appears in human form and is handled and felt, and 
in this form lives among men. He afterward reveals 
himself to individuals in a still more intimate way, so 
that each can say, ' ' I know him. " So also we see 
him revealed to enlarging circles of observers. He is 
at first seen with God alone ; then he is observed by 
the heavenly intelligences, and finally by all creatures 
in heaven and earth. To mankind he is also so re- 
vealed. First to a few occasional individuals, then 
to a single nation, later to many of all nations, and 
at last every eye sees him, and in eternity he is 
known to a great multitude whom no man can 
number. 

Christ is also presented in Scripture from various 
standpoints. He may be studied as seen by God the 

[13] 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

Father, by saints, by enemies, and even by devils. 
He is seen to be connected with every created thing, 
animate and inanimate. We must observe him in 
many different activities and conditions. We are 
permitted to gaze upon him in the solitude and glory 
of eternal existence with God. We are told to watch 
him in the work of creation, and to follow him in his 
dealings with unfallen man in Eden, and as he after- 
ward follows the wayward race in the long, sad jour- 
ney through a world of sin and sorrow. We are even 
allowed to enter heaven and witness his reception as 
he returns victor over the enemies of God and man ; 
and when he comes to restore all things, we may 
accompany him and witness the great restoration, 
and even watch his course as he disappears from our 
vision down the long vista of the eternal future. And 
longing to know him in some closer and more familiar 
relationship, we may turn our eyes inward and in our- 
selves each see Christ in himself. 

The successive periods in which Christ is revealed 
to us in Scripture are seven : The Eternal Past, Crea- 
tion, the Old Testament Age, his Earthly Life, his 
Present State, in the Day of the Lord, and in the 
Eternal Future. These form a continuous narrative 
running through Scripture. Each of them is a distinct 
epoch ; and each succeeding era grows out of the pre- 
ceding, the whole forming one great plan directed by 
uniform principles and tending to a prearranged and 
glorious goal. Christ is seen in these successive mani- 
festations in extending displays of grace, each of them 
an addition to the preceding, and covering greater 
areas of blessing. The whole history displays a con- 
tinually advancing and enlarging work of grace, until 
the spreading circles are lost in the eternal future. 

The key-note of these chapters is ' * Jesus Christ, 
the same yesterday, to-day, and forever." We will 
endeavor to show that He who commanded the 
destruction of the Canaanites was the same who said, 



INTRODUCTION. 1 5 

' ' Father, forgive them, they know not what they 
do ; " that he who said, "Come unto me all ye that 
labor and are heavy laden," afterward said, "Depart 
ye cursed into everlasting fire." We will see that the 
same hand planted the garden of Eden, opened the 
fountains of the great deep, blessed the little children, 
and draws the sword of Har-Magedon. 

We shall endeavor to discover the principles upon 
which Christ works, and above all, the will of God for 
our lives, that we may so come into relations to him- 
self as to one day be able to see and know him as we 
are known. 



THF GREATER LIFE and WORK 
OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER I. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL PAST. 

The eternal past is an incomprehensible mystery. 
It is more so than the eternal future ; for the latter is 
an extension of the present and has much in common 
with it, and therefore we may understand something 
of it. But that "before all things," before man or 
earth or any material thing or being — what then? 
We face a dark, silent, empty, and endless universe. 
The opening words of Scripture give us the first ray 
of light: " In the beginning GOD." This is the first 
fact known or knowable to man. But this adds to 
the perplexity. God is incomprehensible at any time 
— but in the eternal past, in an empty universe ? 
Question after question arises in the mind. We find 
ourselves involved in a labyrinth of mysteries. The 
very superiority of God to duration and space per- 
plexes us the more. 

John, in the opening of his gospel, adds a second 
fact to the first : "In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. " 
This brings us to the remotest point revealed to man. 
Genesis takes us back to creation, but John leads us 
to the Creator before creation began. At this re- 
motest point, we see, side by side with God, a sec- 
ond Person, and One we know. Here, where the 
lines of the perspective meet, stands Christ. He is 

[»7] 



1 8 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL PAST. 

' ' with God, " and the inference is clear that he was 
always "with God." There never was a time when 
Christ was not, as there never was a time when 
God was not. 

In his epistle John adds a further statement of the 
eternity of Christ : ' ' The Life was manifested, and we 
have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the 
life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and 
was manifested unto us." 1 Other Scriptures also de- 
clare the eternal existence of Christ. The following 
identifies the Eternal Christ with Jesus : ' • But thou 
Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among 
the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come 
forth unto me that is to be a ruler in Israel : whose 
goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. " 2 Un- 
der the figure or name of Wisdom, which corresponds 
to ' ■ the Word, " Christ himself thus speaks of this 
eternal state : ' • The Lord possessed me in the begin- 
ning of his way, before his works of old. I was set 
up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the 
earth was. " With these all the statements of Jesus 
and the apostles agree. This truth is a great rest for 
the mind, wearied in its efforts to penetrate the 
boundless past, and baffled by the infinity of the three 
thoughts, — God, and duration, and space. It is the 
person of Christ which illuminates the eternal past, 
as it is the presence of Christ which is the glory of the 
eternal future. We can judge of the former by the 
latter, and both by the present ; for he is the same 
in this, his "yesterday," and in the still greater "for- 
ever," as he is in his great "to-day." 

Christ's relationship to God is described during 
this great past by this expression: "In the bosom of 
the Father." 8 The attitude is the familiar one of 
John who rested his head on Jesus' bosom, and that 
of the beggar who reclined on Abraham's bosom. It 
is q, comment on the statement— ".The .Word, was 

1 i John i. 2. * Micah v. 2. » John i. l8. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL PAST. 1 9 

with God." It declares how he was with God and 
his relationship to God. This was to Christ a state 
of infinite beatitude. To this he looked back from 
the gathering shadows of Calvary, and in his prayer 
he referred to it in these words : ' ' O Father, glorify 
thou me with thine own self with the glory which I 
had with thee before the world was. " * It was a pe- 
culiar and exclusive relationship for Christ. After 
that, his glory and fellowship with God were shared 
with others ; and although for Christ to share his glory 
is to increase it, yet this undivided communion with 
the Father was something which nothing could replace. 
We must not exalt ourselves and our concerns on 
our world and race by supposing that any or all of 
these are necessary to the happiness or the glory of 
the Godhead. Here is infinite glory and bliss before 
any created being or thing existed. The fellowship of 
infinite beings we cannot know ; equal natures only 
can understand it. It is the full flow on the level of 
perfect equality, of perfect appreciation, comprehen- 
sion, and affection. There went out from each to the 
other the wealth of infinite love. 

We may reverently inquire, What was the subject 
of the divine conference in this remote point in the 
eternal past ? We are encouraged to seek to know, 
for it has been revealed to us in some measure. In 
the mind of God the whole future lay in a perfected 
plan awaiting execution. It was undoubtedly the 
subject of divine contemplation. We afterward read 
of instances of this mutual conference. ' ' Let us 
make man," was the expression used in conference 
over the creation of man. This reveals to us that 
there was a conference, as well as the subject of that 
particular one. We have a right to judge divine 
matters in some degree by our own ways, for we are 
made in the image of God. A Father and a Son 
looking forward to an undertaking in which both were 

'John xvii. 5. 



20 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL PAST. 

mutually interested would confer as to the whole plan 
and as to each part of it. When we remember that 
that plan was to be the beginning of what was to last 
forever after, and in which Christ was to have such 
a place, we can see that it was worthy of such 
conference. 

The expression, "Before the foundation of the 
world," which occurs in Scripture, refers undoubtedly 
to this remote period. A study of the passages where 
this phrase occurs will give light upon this subject. 
They are as follows: "Blessed be the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed 
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places 
in Christ ; even as he chose us in him before the 
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and 
without blemish before him in love ; having foreor- 
dained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ 
unto himself." 1 "Ye were redeemed, not with cor- 
ruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain 
manner of life, handed down from your fathers ; but 
with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish 
and without spot, even the blood of Christ : who was 
foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, 
but was manifested at the end of the times for your 
sake who through him are believers in God." 8 
" Father, that which thou hast given me, I will that, 
where I am, they also may be with me ; that they 
may behold my glory, which thou hast given me ; 
for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the 
world." 3 The latter passage identifies "before the 
foundation of the world " with the eternal past. 

We see clearly from these passages that the whole 
plan of redemption was in the mind of God in that 
distant past. "The blood of Jesus; foreknown be- 
fore the foundation of the world, "-»- here was all that 
was implied in redemption and its work. It was no 
after-consideration ; no remedy to correct a mistake. 

1 Eph. i. 3-5. 8 1 Peter i. 18-20. 'John xvii. 24. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL PAST. 21 

It was part of the great original plan. While we can- 
not fathom the purposes of Omniscience, it is pro- 
found satisfaction to see that all was known to God. 
The whole history of the future in all its details, the 
place of every person, the effect of every act, the 
course of all the ages, the final outcome of all, were 
known, considered, and arranged. This is as sure as 
that God is God. God has left no gaps ; there are 
to be no surprises, nor any mistakes to be rectified. 
Every contingency was provided for. 

We are now to contemplate Christ at this point 
of his history. He has a part in this great future. 
He is to be a subject of the plan, a beneficiary of it, 
and above all, its great executive. He therefore must 
have regarded it with the most intense interest and 
expectancy. He looks forward to activity, to struggle, 
to accomplishment, to victory, to the joy which shall 
come to himself, and infinite blessing which shall 
come to myriads of created beings ; and more than 
all, to the glory which shall come to God his Father. 
For Christ, personally, it is a new life into which he 
is to enter. He is to have a new companionship. 
A company of beings are to be his for a peculiar 
possession. They are to be his bride. They are to 
take his nature, and he is to take theirs. Herein 
lies the grandeur of the believer's position. It is to 
this Paul refers in this passage : ' ' Who saved us, 
and called us with a holy calling, not according to 
our works, but according to his own purpose and 
grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before 
times eternal." 1 

It is also to this period this Scripture applies : 
"Through whom also he made the worlds [margin, 
ages]." 2 The ages were framed by the word of the 
great Architect of the universe. The duration of each 
period of the coming time and its character were es- 
tablished by him. The aeons necessary for the forma- 
>2Tim.i. 9. 2 Heb. i. 2. 



f 2 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL PAST. 

tion of earth and the old world of monstrous life, and 
the after world of the present creation, and the era 
of the antediluvians, and the Israelitish age, and our 
own, and that to follow, and down to the last tem- 
poral world or age, and beyond into eternity, — all 
were then "framed" by Christ on the plan of God. 
These are so framed together that they constitute one 
harmonious whole, each part contributing to the other 
and dependent upon it. The successive ages grow 
out of the previous age, as plant from seed, flower 
from plant, and fruit from flower, and yield each its 
harvest of results as God has purposed from the be- 
ginning, and Christ has appointed. 

It is to Christ's preexistent state that the words, 
' ' The first-born of all creation " refer. x The expres- 
sions "born "or "begotten" refer to three manifes- 
tations of Christ : His resurrection — ' ' the first-born 
from [or of ] the dead ; " 2 his birth of Mary — ' ' There 
is born to you this day in the city of David, a Saviour 
which is Christ the Lord;" 8 and to his preexistent 
state — • ' The first-born of all creation. " In the resur- 
rection he became the first-born from the dead, and 
was manifested in a glorified body. In his birth of 
Mary he revealed himself in a human nature or soul 
with all its properties. This first manifestation of 
Christ we can scarcely understand. But judging from 
the subsequent experiences to which the same expres- 
sion is applied, and the connection of the term with 
the coming creation, it was a definite revelation of 
himself, purely spiritual, in which he prepared himself 
for the execution of the great plan which lay before 
him. All these revelations were peculiar to Christ. 
He was in each "The only-begotten Son of God." 
In a sense, also, in each he was ' ' the first-born among 
many brethren. " It is the same difference and simi- 
larity which exists in all things between Christ and 
his people. He lived our life, and we live his. 

I Col. i. 15. 8 Rev. i. 5; Col. i. 18. 3 Luke ii. IE. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL PAST. 23 

By primogeniture in all these respects, but espe- 
cially in the primordial manifestation, Christ entered 
a position of sanctity, dignity, privilege, responsibility, 
and infinite possibilities. The first-born was holy 
unto the Lord * — God's especial property and servant. 
So Christ became God's great servant in a sense, per- 
haps, impossible in his original divine, personal equality 
with the Father. Christ is also by primogeniture Lord 
of all. He is by his resurrection the head of all glo- 
rified saints, by his birth the first of all humanity, and 
by his primordial manifestation, first and Lord of all 
intelligences in earth or heaven. By these succes- 
sive manifestations Christ, by the divinely acknowl- 
edged law of primogeniture, received the birthright 
also. He became thereby successively Prophet, Priest, 
and King to all succeeding things, beings, and ages. 
He is Prophet by his primordial manifestation ; Priest 
by his incarnation, and King by the resurrection from 
the dead. These offices far transcend the relation- 
ships to Israel and the church. They are the great 
universal offices to all creation. 

Especially was this true of his prophetic office. 
It was as Prophet he acted from this on, as will be 
seen, until redemption. The spiritual manifestation 
of Christ was his special fitting for this office which is 
peculiarly a spiritual one. It is the spirit of the 
prophet which receives the message, and it is in the 
spirit he does his work. The Holy Spirit had in 
Christ, then, a perfect spirit to which and through 
which he could and did communicate, and speak, and 
act. Christ also assumed in this spiritual manifesta- 
tion vast responsibilities. He stands to all coming 
creation and beings as Adam stood to the human 
race. From him all proceed ; on him all depend. 
Their loss is his loss. Whatever consequences befall 
the coming creation, Christ must bear the whole re- 
sponsibility and guilt and fate. The destroyer attacks 

»Ex. ii. 15. 



24 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL PAST. 

the first-born. 1 So also the deliverance depends on 
Christ. Their ruin is his to remedy. We see here the 
ground plan of redemption. It is inwoven in the very 
nature of Christ. "He is before all things, and in 
him all things consist." 2 In this, Christ entered upon 
the great plan of the ages and fully committed him- 
self to the great undertaking. In this primordial 
manifestation Christ ever after revealed himself un- 
til his incarnation. In this he was Creator and Je- 
hovah. In this he was the Angel of the Covenant. 
In this he is regarded as subservient to God. It was 
the first of the steps by which the eternal and infinite 
God in the person of his Son descended to, and en- 
tered into, connection and fellowship with finite and 
created things. 

The title applied to Christ in this manifestation 
is "The Word." It is the designation of his pro- 
phetical office. Cremer writes on this as follows : — 

"When St. John calls Christ according to his eternal being 
' The Word,' this must not be regarded as the expression and 
designation of his inner, divine relationship. . . . Christ is 
called the Word because of what he always is for the world, 
and on account of what he is for the New Testament church, 
as thus designated ; viz., the representation and expression 
of what God says to the world, — he in whom and by whom 
God's mind and purposes toward the world find their true 
and full expression. . . . His relationship to the world and to 
mankind rests upon this." 3 

This title, then, is the designation of Christ after 
entering the relationship spoken of, in the first mani- 
festation of himself, and refers not to the eternal 
relationship of Christ to God the Father, but his 
subsequent relationship as the manifestation of God, 
contemplating and conducting the great plan now 
being entered upon. 

"The Word" declares Christ's relationship to 
God in this first manifestation of himself. As a word 

!Heb. ii. 28. 2 Col. i. 17. 

3 Biblico-Theological Lexicon, Edinburgh, 1872, p. 406. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL PAST. 25 

is to the thought, as a perfectly expressive word de- 
clares the very thought, so Christ manifests the mind 
of God. The whole wisdom of God is shown in 
Christ. Therefore this title "Wisdom," is also ap- 
plied to Christ. * It is also to Christ in this character 
that the scripture refers which reads, ' ' In him were 
all things created." He was God's plan of creation 
as will be seen. He is the embodiment of God's pur- 
poses from first to last in all ages. There is more 
than wisdom or plan in this title. God's word is 
equal to his act. It is clothed with the plenitude of 
energy. The prophet works as well as speaks. In- 
deed, looking at the earthly office, it is by the prophet 
alone that not only all God's words were spoken, but 
all his acts were performed up to the time of re- 
demption. In this office, then, and in this title were 
expressed and effected all that was said and done by 
Christ up to the assumption of the succeeding offices 
of Priest and King. It was as the Word he acted not 
only in creation ("all things were made by him"), 
but it was as the Word he acted all through the Old 
Testament age. ' ' In him was life, and the life was 
the light of men." 2 All his dealings with all man- 
kind as well as Israel were as the Word of God. Even 
in the time of the assumption of his kingly office, be- 
fore taking to himself openly the kingdom, but in the 
preparatory conflict, leading the victorious hosts of 
heaven, the name he then assumes is this his first 
title. It is recorded : " His name is called The Word 
of God." 3 

This title however does not express all of Christ's 
nature or work. It is expressive of intellectual rather 
than affectional nature. But more than intellectual 
or even dynamic display is necessary for redemption. 
Christ must become man ; and man is more than in- 
tellect. This title, then, expresses Christ's work and 
nature up to his incarnation, when we read: "And 

1 Proverbs viii. 2 John i. 3, 4. 3 Rev. xix. 13. 



26 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL PAST. 

the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (and we 
beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from 
the Father), full of grace and truth." 1 Christ, then, 
under this title must be regarded, as the Scripture in- 
dicates, as manifesting himself in his first and partial 
revelation. It is the Christ of wisdom and power, 
the qualities necessary in the work of creation, and 
also seen in the Old Testament where these qualities 
characterize the divine actings. 

In this title and power Christ advances to the 
execution of the great plan which lay before him. 
We can judge his thoughts in a limited way by our 
own. As man is in the divine image and reflects the 
divine nature even in his ruined state, we with the 
Spirit of God may enter into some apprehension of 
the mind of Christ in this his first revealed acting. 
We see him looking out into an empty universe and 
down the long vista of the eternal ages, with feelings 
infinite yet comprehensible. Infinity is not absence 
of all such feelings as we know, but rather intensity 
and infinity of them. So Christ, we may believe, 
looked forward with expectancy, confidence, and tri- 
umph. He well knows all which is involved in bring- 
ing into existence created beings with all their frailty 
and indeed certainty of erring and failing. He sees 
the final outcome, and it is infinitely glorious. It is 
all one great plan in which everything has its place 
and works out its intended purpose, and all to display 
the glory of God in the grace he is to show to the 
coming universe and all its beings. 

1 John i. 14. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE WORD. 
CHRIST IN CREATION. 

Creation was the work of God the Father, Son, 
and Holy Spirit. This is not only intimated by the 
plural forms of the names and pronouns applied to 
God in the account of creation in Genesis, but can 
also be inferred from the spiritual work of regenera- 
tion of which it is a type and the specific statements 
as to the part of each person of the Godhead. Over 
against the three divine persons in creation we see 
three distinct parts, — the production of Life, Matter, 
and Arrangement. 

"A threefold unity; namely, a unity of power, a unity of 
form, or family, and unity of substantial composition does 
pervade the whole living world." * 

We are instinctively led to ask if there was not 
an allotment of these parts in creation to the several 
Persons of the Godhead. We find it is so in the 
spiritual sphere. 

God the Father is the Great First Cause. From 
him came all existences ; he is the Father of Spirits. 
To God the Father we must attribute also the crea- 
tion of elementary matter. Whatever view may be 
taken of the subsequent process, this is essential to 
every system of science and philosophy. No theory 
has ever been even proposed to account for the origin 
of existences. This is the statement of the first verse 
of Genesis which is literally, "In the beginning God 

1 Huxley, "Lay Sermons." New York, 1871, p. 122. 

[27] 



28 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

created the substance of the heavens and the sub- 
stance of the earth." 

The Holy Spirit is expressly declared in many 
scriptures as the author of life. We know well this is 
true of spiritual life ; but it is also true of all other 
forms of life. His sphere as the Lifegiver extends 
over all forms of life. He is the author of all psy- 
chical and even organic life. Each living thing can 
say, ' ' The Spirit of God hath made me and the 
breath of the Almighty hath given me life." 1 Not 
only so, but that strange form of life which resides 
in inorganic things, which we call Force, comes from 
the great Life- and Force-giver. "The Spirit of God 
moved upon the face of the waters." 8 "By the 
word of the Lord were the heavens made ; and all 
the host of them by the breath of his mouth." 3 " By 
his Spirit the heavens are garnished. " * 

This leaves as the sphere of the special work of 
Christ, arrangement, or formation of all things. 

This is Christ's own account of his work. " Then 
was I by him as a master workman. " 6 

We have seen that Christ was the embodiment of 
the divine wisdom. All God's workings also are 
through him. He was and is God's great Executive. 
He takes that which God has created, and from it 
forms all things, material, psychical, and spiritual. 
This threefold work of the Godhead is seen in the 
creation of man : ' ' And the Lord God formed man 
of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his 
nostrils the breath of life." 8 Christ took the substance 
already created and "formed" man; then into this 
formed body through him the Holy Spirit " breathed 
the breath of life. " So in the spiritual work of Christ ; 
he takes "the men whom thou hast given me," forms 
them into followers, disciples, and apostles, and into 
these afterward the Holy Spirit, on the day of Pen- 

1 Job xxxiii. 4. 2 Gen. i. 2. 8 Ps. xxxiii. 6. 

*Job xxvi. 13. 5 Prov. viii. 30. 'Gen. ii. 7. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 29 

tecost, breathes life. The work of God and Christ is 
so spoken of by the apostle : ' ' There is one God, the 
Father, of whom are all things, and we unto him ; 
and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all 
things, and we through him." 1 

We should clearly distinguish between three great 
stages in the creation of the universe and our 
world. The first was the formation of the material 
universe, of which our world is a part, and doubtless 
formed at the same time and in the same way. The 
second great stage was the creation of the primeval 
order of life which geology reveals to us. The third 
stage was the six days' work spoken of in Genesis. 
The first stage was the formation of the material, 
inorganic universe. Of this Scripture says : "In the 
beginning God created the heaven and the earth." 
How God made the universe we are not told. It was 
no doubt a long series of ages. Christ labored by 
what we call natural processes. The description of 
the workings of Christ in the forming of the universe 
of primeval matter is given in many places. "By 
the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all 
the host of them by. the breath of his mouth." 8 
' ' Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of 
his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, 
and comprehended the dust of the earth in a meas- 
ure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the 
hills in a balance." 3 The whole of this description 
conveys the idea of careful, systematic execution. It 
is the work of the builder constructing a great edifice, 
and this is the figure everywhere applied to the con- 
struction of the earth. "It is he that buildeth his 
chambers in the heaven, and founded his vault upon 
the earth."* Job, the oldest book of Scripture, is 
particularly rich in accounts of the cosmical work of 
Christ. 

1 1 Cor. viii. 6. *Ps. xxxiii. 6. 

8 Isa. xl. 12. *Amos ix. 6. 



30 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

It is implied in Scripture, if not directly stated, 
that angels were created before other things or beings. 
Christ first surrounded himself with assistants. It is 
taught in Scripture that angels are used in all realms 
of divine operations. They assist in the administering 
of the affairs of divine government, and are minister- 
ing spirits to God's people. They are also used in 
the operations of nature. ' ' And of the angels he 
saith : He maketh his angels winds and his minis- 
ters a flame of fire." 1 The passage in the creation 
psalm, from which this is a quotation, is thus ren- 
dered there : ' ' Who maketh winds his messengers : 
his ministers a flaming fire." 2 Here, then, is a great 
revelation of personal, supernatural, intelligent beings 
operating the forces we call natural. All this agrees 
with the discoveries of science. We see that our 
globe, which is undoubtedly a specimen of the uni- 
verse, was formed by the operation of the great forces 
of nature, especially fire, all in an intelligent manner 
working to the great end we see displayed in the per- 
fect adaptation of the earth to its purpose. This 
makes creation comprehensible. Here is a succession 
of sufficient causes. First, God by a certain act pro- 
ducing the elements of all substance, force, and life ; 
second, Christ forming these, by means of intelligent 
subordinates, working through these great natural 
agencies, into the manifold forms we see in earth 
and air and sea and sky. 

Olshausen writes on this : — 

"The agency of angels has reference principally to the 
physical part of existence. They are the living supports and 
springs of motion to the world for which the modern mechan- 
ical view of the world has substituted what are called powers 
of nature." 3 

There occurs in the record various expressions 
describing the divine operation, such as, " And God 

1 Heb. i. 7. * Ps. civ. 4. 

3 "Gospels," 5 Vols., Edinburgh, 1855; Vol. I, p. 46. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 3 1 

said;" "And God created;" "And God made." 
These are not synonymous. They imply varying 
forms of operation ; sometimes creative fiat ; again, by 
gradual formation; at times, by the operation of 
powers by us as yet undiscovered, and again, by such 
forces as fire, to us well known. 

Having finished the earth to a condition capable 
of supporting life, Christ begins the second great 
part of storing the earth with necessary materials and 
provisions for the comfort of the race during the ages 
to come. We see in this old world a vast population 
of plants and animals. They were monstrous races. 
They were evidently not made for beauty or admiring 
contemplation, as is nature to-day. Nor were they 
fit for the association of human beings. Looked at 
for themselves, there appears to be no reason for 
their existence. But they lived, not for themselves, 
but for the race and world to come. Their mission 
was to accumulate wealth and leave it to others. To 
them we owe our vast supplies of coal, oil, gas, and 
other products, some of which are doubtless not yet 
discovered. Here was Christ in prevenient grace. 
He toils ages to build the house, and ages longer to 
fill its treasure vaults with precious metal, and still 
more ages to fill its cellars with fuel for winters which 
have not yet commenced their icy rounds, and illumi- 
nating substances for darkness not yet existing, and 
all for a race not yet created, but on which he has 
set his heart with the love of infinite desire. The 
work of the monstrous fauna and flora being done, 
they are overwhelmed in world-wide overthrows, and 
their remains hermetically sealed for the use of those 
who shall need them. 

The state of the earth at the close of this old age 

is described in the Revised Version as " waste and 

void." 1 This conveys a very different idea from that 

given in the Authorised Version. The expression 

1 Gen. i. a. Note 1, Appendix. 



32 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

there is, "without form and void." The latter de- 
scribes an unformed world, while the former an earth 
formed, but in ruins. As we have seen, the earth 
was formed and had been used for many ages. 

The state described by the words in the Revised 
Version, quoted above, is the true one. It is that of 
a world in ruins. The earth was a globe as it is to- 
day before the six days' work began. The geologic 
strata were as we see them, save for subsequent up- 
heavals in the formation of continents and islands. 
It was however covered with water and enswathed in 
clouds and darkness. It was the same state in which 
the prophet saw the earth after the desolating judg- 
ments of the last day : "I beheld the earth, and, lo, 
it was waste, and void; and the heavens, and they had 
no light. " x It is important to remember this as we 
now come to consider the subsequent work of crea- 
tion. The six days' work, then, was commenced on 
an earth finished as to its form and internal con- 
tents long before this period began. 

The word ' ' day " is used in the first two chapters 
of Genesis in four different meanings : the time of 
daylight, twenty-four hours, each of the six days, 
and the whole creation age. Examining the six 
days' work from this point of view, we see that while 
we cannot tell how long each ' ' day " was, no long 
periods were necessary, under any view of creation, 
to effect all described in the record. Why should a 
long age be required to produce light ? The world is 
flooded with light every morning in less than an hour. 
It was doubtless some special kind of light, for it is 
recorded, " God saw the light that it was good." The 
conditions were different and the operation also ; yet 
whether by thoze operations we call natural, or those 
we call supernatural, the lifting or dissipation of the 
surrounding vapors to permit the entrance of light 
sufficient for the growth of the lower forms of plants 

1 Jer. iv. 23. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 33 

does not seem such an incredible event as to lead 
to incredulity upon the part of any one believing in 
God. The second day's work was the production of 
atmospheric air by the combination of its constituent 
gases or its diffusion by the lifting of the clouds of 
vapors which rested upon the waters. We see this 
done upon a lesser scale at the breaking up of every 
storm. 

The third day's work was the separation of a portion 
of land by its elevation above the surrounding waters, 
and the infusion of the germs of plant life. The 
beginnings of life were no doubt small, as is the be- 
ginning of all life still. All this calls for no very 
extended period. Upheavals of great portions of 
the earth's surface have often occurred in a short 
time, while the sproutings of a spring day are a 
greater exhibit than this first and probably limited 
growth. 

The work of the fourth day related to the sun and 
planets. These globes are formed of the same con- 
stituents as the spectroscope tells us, and therefore 
of the same origin as the earth. This was not there- 
fore the creation of the solar bodies. The record 
tells us what the work of the fourth day, which re- 
lated to them, was : ' ' Let there be lights in the firma- 
ment of heaven to divide the day from the night, and 
let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days 
and for years ; and let them be for lights in the 
firmament of the heaven, and it was so." 1 The word 
' ' light " is literally, light-bearer. The latest deliver- 
ance of science as to the sun is that it is a dark body 
surrounded by a luminous photosphere or flame ; or 
in the language of Scripture, a "light-bearer." 
Whether this photosphere was then produced or its 
rays were then permitted to penetrate the atmos- 
phere of earth still further is immaterial, it was then 
established for light. 

1 Gen. i. 14. 
3 



34 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

Sufficient attention has not been given to the re- 
mainder of the record, wherein it is declared they 
were appointed for signs, seasons, days, and years. 
The varying seasons and the years are produced by 
the inclination of the earth's axis, as is well known, 
but there was a time, science tells us, when there was 
no varying in the seasons. There were at the poles 
regions of perpetual winter as now, and at the equator 
a region of perpetual heat as now, and between 
these, regions of different but unvarying temperature, 
but there were no annual changes anywhere. This 
indicates a position of the earth's axis parallel to that 
of the sun. The time came when, so science tells us, 
the earth's axis was suddenly changed, the climatic 
zones were therefore modified and became as they are 
to-day, or nearly so. There is no want of harmony 
here between science and the Bible. If this was the 
work of the fourth day, and there is much reason to 
think so, it too could have occurred in a comparatively 
short time. The creation of the higher forms of 
plants and animals in land and sea suitable to such a 
a changed climatic condition was the work of the fifth 
and sixth days, ending in the creation of man. 

It is interesting to notice that the six days' work 
lies in two corresponding periods of three days each, 
the last three corresponding to the first three. In the 
first day, light is created ; in the fourth, the heavenly 
luminaries are adjusted to their office. In the second 
day the waters and air are produced or rather gath- 
ered into their respective spheres ; in the fifth day 
fish and birds are created. The third day land is 
separated ; and in the sixth, the land animals and 
man are created. 

If we could see creation in actual operation, we 
would probably see all being done as naturally as the 
operations of nature about us every day. There are 
forces, of which we know but little, whereby mind 
acts upon matter in what is to us a mysterious man- 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 35 

ner. We realize in our own bodies this strange act- 
ing of the psychical upon the physical, and even 
stranger operations of mind upon outside matter. 
The great Mind which pervades all the universe could 
act on the surrounding substance in entire harmony 
with laws to us unseen and unknown. When the 
Creator said, "Let there be light," " Let the waters 
bring forth," "Let the earth bring forth," there ac- 
companied these commands an energy which carried 
them into effect. The uniformity of nature shows one 
great whole produced by one great Mind. Life is the 
seed and nucleus of the physical surrounding substance. 
Given this germ of life, and all things are possible. 
Here we may study the type by the antitype. The in- 
breathing of the Holy Spirit is the beginning of that 
new life which develops into the babe in Christ, grows 
into the youth, and finally reaches the measure of the 
stature of the full-grown man in Christ. At Pentecost 
we see a spiritual work parallel to that of creation. 
There are the same phenomena, — the light, the wind, 
the earthquake, — all referring us to the old creation 
as a type of the new. By that one great in-breathing 
there were imparted to the subjects of the divine 
power the germs of all divine gifts and graces. So in 
creation there was by the same breath or word the 
infusion into air and earth and sea the germs of the 
countless forms of life, each coming to maturity under 
the divine law of its being which has governed it 
ever since. There is an added clause to all the fiats 
of creation — "And it was so." This means more 
than the taking place of the events commanded. 

"The particle (or the adjective rather) never loses the 
primary idea of fixedness, establishment, order. And it was 
so, — rather, ' and it became forever fixed, established.'" * 

The fact that creation is one of the types of the 
spiritual work of Christ, makes it important and ab- 

1 Lange, " Commentary on Genesis; " New York. 



36 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

solutely necessary to notice what it was. It is thus 
denned in Scripture: " By faith we understand that 
the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so 
that what is seen hath not been made out of things 
which do appear." 1 There is no preceding life from 
which the new creation comes. In the earth's former 
state there was a monstrous order of things utterly 
unfit for the use of man. It was suddenly and com- 
pletely destroyed as Scripture and geology agree in 
showing. So in the spiritual work of Christ there 
is a killing before a making alive, "mortification be- 
fore vivification." Both these divine works are from 
above. It is as true of a world as it is of a man, 
each must be born again. Regeneration is distinctly 
stated in Scripture as a creation. ' ' If any man is 
in Christ, there is a new creation." 2 The regener- 
ate are "created in Christ" "after the image of 
him that created him," "created in righteousness." 3 

Seeing, then, that creation is a type and illustra- 
tion of the spiritual work of Christ in the soul and in 
the world, it makes a radical difference what the 
work of the six days was. Indeed, this is the great 
line of division and conflict to-day between the ad- 
herents of the Biblical account and those who reject 
it. This line of division extends, as is inevitable, to 
spiritual truth, and therefore is the line between 
evangelical and heterodox views. It affects all phi- 
losophy and sociology as well as all theology. Indeed, 
there is scarcely a range of human thinking which is 
not vitally affected by the view taken of the work de- 
scribed in the first chapters of Genesis. It is for this 
reason that space is given here to the most prevalent 
and unscriptural opposing theories. 

The theory which confronts the Scriptural narra- 
tive and the spiritual process alike is evolution. If 
this was the method of creation, it is also the spir- 

1 Heb. xi. 2. 2 2 Cor. v. 17, margin-. 

8 Eph. ii. x ; iv. 24 ; Col. iii. 10. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 37 

itual method, for the one is the Scriptural type of the 
other. If this is the case, then man is not guilty, he 
is simply imperfect. Human nature is not in ruins, 
it is in process of formation. Both man and world 
contain within themselves the "power and potency 
of every form of life." All that is needed are the 
proper conditions, and the world and mankind by 
development will attain to the kingdom of God. Re- 
ligion itself was a development which came because 
man found it necessary. All religions are good, 
Christianity being the best so far reached by man ; 
but he still advances, and other and better faiths are 
to come. Christianity, or much of it, may be laid 
aside as we have laid aside paganism. The ultimate 
man will by his own unaided efforts banish evils from 
life. Poverty will cease ; disease will be almost an- 
nihilated by the advance of medical and sanitary sci- 
ence ; life will be vastly lengthened and made pleasant 
by inventions and improvements, and this will be the 
kingdom of God on earth. From all of which it will be 
seen that the death of Christ on the cross was unnec- 
essary for man's salvation, and in fact was only a 
beautiful example of self-sacrifice. As to those who 
die without reaching this lovely state of life and earth, 
there is no provision for them. From this it will be 
seen that evolution is not only a theory of science, but 
a religion also, and has obtained as such a wide ac- 
ceptance. What is called "liberalism" derives its 
strength from it. Development is the liberalist's 
Saviour. 

This theory is formidable because it originated in 
the domains of science. The vast and deserved re- 
spect in which we hold the deliverances of science has 
won for this, its favorite theory to-day, wide accept- 
ance. Evolution has not, however, met the unani- 
mous approval of scholars in the various fields of 
natural science. 

Agassiz wrote : — 



38 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

" I shall therefore consider the transmutation theory as a 
scientific mistake, untrue in its facts, unscientific in its meth- 
ods, and mischievous in its tendency." 1 

Dr. Dawson, principal of Mc Gill University, 
Montreal, writes : — 

"The evolutionist doctrine is itself one of the strangest 
phenomena of humanity. It is destitute of shadow of proof, 
and is supported merely by vague analogies and figures of 
speech, and by the arbitrary and artificial coherence of its 
own parts." 2 

The Duke of Argyle writes : — 

"These hypotheses are indeed destitute of proof, and in 
the form which they have as yet assumed, it may be said 
that they make such violation of, or departure from, all that 
we know of the existing order of things, as to deprive them 
of all scientific base." 3 

Sir Roderick Murchison writes : — 

•• I know as much of nature in her geologic era as any 
living man, and I fearlessly say that our geologic record does 
not afford one syllable of evidence in support of Darwin's 
theory." 

We are met by the assertion that no one is ca- 
pable of passing upon the merits of this theory or dis- 
cussing it unless he is schooled in the various fields it 
explores, and technically skilled in its methods of 
study and experiment. This claim we cannot ac- 
knowledge, especially in view of its inroads on Scrip- 
tural and evangelical faith. We claim that ordinary 
intelligence is capable of considering its main lines of 
argument and the objections to them. One may be 
fully competent to pass upon the merits of money and 
detect the counterfeit, who knows nothing of the pro- 
duction of bills good or bad. On the other hand, the 
technical knowledge required to study in such fields 
as biology is not necessarily accompanied with the 

1 American Journal, July, 1880. 

"" The Story of Earth and Man ; " New York, 1874, p. 317. 

•"The Reign of Law ;" New York, 5th ed., p. 29. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 39 

higher order of wisdom which accurately discovers 
final conclusions. Indeed, it is often the case that 
the wider outlook is obscured and sometimes perverted 
by the immediate objects and themes of study which 
are no true guide to the general and accurate results. 
Evolution is confessedly unproven. Its actual 
operation has never been seen or known. Certain 
facts are presented, and from these the inference is 
drawn that development was the process by which all 
things came and that there could have been no other 
way. This is a philosophically false position. Its 
firmest advocates admit its weakness. Tyndall said 
in a lecture before the Royal Institute in London, 
in 1887: — 

"From the beginning to the end of the inquiry there is 
not, as you have seen, a shadow of evidence in favor of the 
doctrine of spontaneous generation. I am inexorably led to 
the conclusion that no such evidence exists, and that in the 
lowest as in the highest of organized creatures the method of 
life is that life shall be the issue of antecedent life." 

In his Belfast address he said : — 

"Those who hold the doctrine of evolution are by no 
means ignorant of the uncertainty of their data, and they 
only yield to it a provisional assent." 

Mr. Huxley wrote as follows : — 

" After much consideration and assuredly no bias against 
Mr. Darwin's views, it is our clear conviction that, as the 
evidence stands, it is not absolutely proven that a group of 
animals having all the characters exhibited by species in 
nature, has ever been originated by selection, whether artifi- 
cial or natural." — " Lay Sermons ," New York, 1871, p. 293. 

Dr. Rudolph Schmid, of Wurtemberg, an advocate 
of evolution writes : — 

"All these three theories [descent, selection, and de- 
velopment] have not yet passed beyond the rank of hypothe- 
ses." — " Theories 0/ Darwin," Translation, Chicago, 1885, p. 61. 

Yet the whole school of this system are building 
upon these unproven theories as if they were facts 



40 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

ascertained beyond the shadow of a doubt, and advanc- 
ing into every sphere of thought and activity, and 
demanding universal acceptance. 

The nature of the facts adduced and the style of 
argument used in support of this theory and its con- 
clusions, are well illustrated by the following sum- 
ming up of general conclusions of evolution by Prof. 
Drummond : — 

"Take away the theory that man has evolved from a 
lower animal condition, and there is no explanation whatever of 
any one of these phenomena. With such facts before us, it is 
mocking human intelligence to assume that man has not some 
connection with the rest of the animal creation or that the 
processes of development stand unrelated to the other ways 
of nature. That Providence in making a new being should 
deliberately have inserted these eccentricities without their 
having any real connection with the things they so well imitate, 
or any working relation to the rest of his body, is with our 
present knowledge simply irreverence." l 

The unscientific and unphilosophical assertion that 
" there is no explanation whatever of any one of these 
phenomena " except by evolution, is the foundation- 
stone of the whole theory. It is a negative assertion 
and not a proven fact. The facts alluded to by Prof. 
Drummond are these : The alleged power of new-born 
babies to hold by a cane or finger so as to permit of 
being lifted thereby, meanwhile keeping their limbs 
drawn up. The infant monkey does so also. Of 
this, Prof. Drummond says "there is no explanation 
whatever" save that man came from the monkey. 
Another of these facts is the presence of hair on the 
human body, especially on the fore-arms where it 
grows in reverse direction to the rest of the body, 
and long hairs occasionally found in the eyebrows. 
This also resembles the ape, and is therefore another 
irresistible proof, to doubt which is "irreverence," 
whether to the ape or man he does not say. The 
power some persons have of twitching the ears and 

1 "Ascent of Man," New York, 1895, p. 87. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 4 1 

moving the scalp is a further proof of animal origin, 
to doubt which is "insulting human intelligence." 
There is found in some instances in the neck peculiar 
marks called "gill slits," especially in the embryo. 
These resemble in position and in some other respects 
the gills of fish, and thus prove that man is descended 
from the fish. To doubt this is also "irreverence" 
and "insulting to human intelligence." These are 
specimens of basal facts, arguments, and conclusions 
of the development theory as stated by one of its most 
recent and able advocates. We answer the whole by 
an extract from one of the fathers of evolution more 
modest in his claims than his disciples. Huxley 
wrote : — 

"No amount of purely morphological evidence can suffice 
to prove that forms of life have come into existence in one 
way rather than in another." 1 

Evolution is opposed by vital facts far greater in 
their force and vastly more fundamental in their char- 
acter than the correspondences which it rests its 
claims upon. Some of the facts which resist the as- 
sertions of this theory are as follows : — 

i. Geologic remains often show a reverse order of 
production to that demanded by this theory. New 
and great forms appear suddenly and without any in- 
termediate links. Evolution presupposes development 
inevitably upward. But facts often show the reverse. 
Most of the forms of life in the geologic ages appear at 
the first at their best. To-day there is no fact better 
recognized than a tendency to degeneration. 

2. The extreme length of time demanded by this 
theory is utterly inconsistent with the age of the earth 
as evidenced by the action of tides, the heat of the 
earth and of the sun. The comparatively recent pe- 
riod of time within which man has appeared on earth, 
as shown by all the evidences of geology, ethnology, 

*" Study of Zoology," New York, p. 286. 



42 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

archaeology, chronology, as well as history, is incon- 
sistent with the long period necessary for his develop- 
ment according to this theory. 

3. Nature shows fixed limits, or barriers, in 
organic life. Hybrids are sterile. Artificial varieties 
produced by man disappear when allowed to revert to 
a state of nature. In a state of nature each thing 
seeks its own proper food and environment, and failing 
to find it, perishes. Each propagates after its own 
kind and develops unvaryingly on its own lines. 

4. No such changes or modifications of species as 
presupposed by this theory are found or observed in 
thousands of years of human observation. The 
forms pictured on the monuments of Egypt and 
Assyria are precisely such as we have to-day ; while 
if this theory was true, these forms would in thousands 
of years have been pushed up so far at least as to 
permit of measurement or recognition. 

5. Other fatal objections are thus stated by 
Dr. Robert Patterson : — 

"Natural Selection is not a productive force: it cannot 
create, but only preserve, and therefore could not populate 
the world. . . . Natural selection cannot account for organs 
made or strengthened in opposition to the physical force of 
the animal. . . . Many variations are positively injurious to 
their owners. . . . Variations are not generally profitable at 
first, and therefore according to this theory could not be pre- 
served. . . . Anticipatory organs cannot be accounted for by 
Natural Selection. . . . The improved types do not crowd 
out the simple forms as this theory requires. The accidental 
occurrence of profitable variations at long intervals of time 
could not possibly have produced the beautiful adaptations of 
nature. ... It attributes the elevation of man and of all 
animals to an agency [the struggle for existence] which cannot 
possibly have elevated these higher races, since it always has 
a degrading agency." 1 

6. This theory confounds two things which differ, 
— the development of species and of the individual. 
The facts of the latter it adduces in support of the 

1 " Errors of Evolution , " Boston, 1885, pp. 238-267. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 43 

former. Such are the facts of embriology and the 
finding of rudimentary organs or parts or habits of 
the lower forms in the higher. These only prove the 
development, as will be seen later, of the individual, 
and the formation of all on a general plan. 

7. History and archaeological discovery condemn 
by positive facts. Savage races are races in a state of 
decay from former higher conditions and not in proc- 
ess of development. There is no evidence of 
advance among such races to-day, save as effected by 
outside influence. The Chinese have made no prog- 
ress in thousands of years. The Hindus, save as 
affected by European civilization, have retrograded. 
The pigmies of Central Africa are just what they were 
pictured on the tombs of Egypt three thousand years 
ago. The ancient civilizations of Egypt and Assyria 
and Mexico appear at their best at first. They have 
no preparatory stages. The more ancient peoples 
such as the Babylonians and Persians were more true 
and reverent than the later Greeks. The earlier 
Greeks and Romans were more advanced in all moral 
traits than their descendants in the time of Christ. 
Decline marked the course of all up to the Chris- 
tian era. 

8. There are seven great fundamental facts which 
evolution has not accounted for, and makes no pre- 
tense of doing so. These are Matter, Motion, Life, 
Consciousness, Christ, Christian Experience, and 
the Future Life. 

The demands of evolution upon credulity are far 
beyond those which Scripture asks of faith, and are 
extravagant and absurd. An organ as complex and 
perfect as the eye was, it claims, the product of re- 
peated, chance, and favorable happenings continued 
persistently, and operating on that particular spot dur- 
ing long ages by which it was gradually developed 
and became the delicate and complex organ it is. 
The process is thus described : There was a thin 



44 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

spot in the skin of the animal's head ; under this was 
a cell containing liquid, in which was a nerve. The 
light falling upon this thin place in the skin produced 
a gratifying sensation and caused the animal to turn 
that side of its head to the sun. Its progeny inher- 
ited the same habit, and their progeny also, and so on 
indefinitely. By this use, that part became sensitive 
to the light and more and more so, as thus used, and 
so the sense of sight was aroused or produced, and, 
with it, the organ by which sight was exercised was fi- 
nally and fully developed. There came from this sense 
of sight ideas of things, as fear at the appearance of 
enemies and desire at the sight of food, and reason- 
ings accordingly, and all that makes up mind in ani- 
mals or what corresponds to it, and the full-formed 
mental power of man, with all his hopes and aims, 
aspirations, education, civilization, religion, and moral 
and spiritual character. All this came from the ani- 
mal turning that thin spot in its head to the sun. 
We are asked to believe this, and to call it science, 
and for it to reject the simple and sufficient and noble 
account of the Scriptures. 

Evolution is wholly unchristian in its spirit. It 
is a harsh and cruel theory. It sacrifices the indi- 
vidual to the class. It destroys or neglects myriads 
of creatures to advance one. It looks to the race and 
takes no account of the individual. It bids him look 
for his consolation to the advance of the race, ages 
after he is dead and gone. It teaches the fierce strug- 
gle for existence and "the survival of the fittest," 
that is, the strongest. These are the principles of 
the brute, pure and simple. It tells man he came 
from the brute and then leads him back to the brute. 
It is diametrically opposed to the divine principle as 
seen in Christ and his work, which is the welfare of 
others and not self. 

Evolution is a relic of heathenism revived and 
expanded. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 45 

"In the systems of Greek and Scandinavian mythology, 
spirit is evolved from matter; matter up to spirit works. 
They begin with the lowest form of being, — night, chaos, a 
mundane egg, — and evolve the higher gods therefrom." 1 

Evolution in its radical, and only consistent form 
is absolutely atheistic. It needs no God either at 
the beginning or end of human existence. The basis 
of it is the fixedness of the natural and its sufficiency 
to account for all things. Matter is the cause and 
mind the effect. There was no preconceived plan. 
All we see is the result of a multitude of chance hap- 
penings operating through a vast period of time. 

There is a modified view of evolution held by 
many believers in the Scriptures, that man's body was 
derived from some animal, but his soul imparted by a 
divine act. This renders the first half of the Scripture 
account figuratively and the second part of the same 
verse literally. This system of exegesis is vicious in 
the extreme and violates all rules of literary and 
Scriptural interpretation. By this any scripture may 
be made to mean anything. Nor, if evolution is true 
at all, is there any logical reason why the soul should 
not be developed as the body was ? This is the posi- 
tion of the radical evolutionist and is consistent. 
Equal evidences can be given for the one as for the 
other. This half-way acceptance of evolution does 
by no means relieve the narrative of difficulty. Let 
any one try to imagine man being created in this half 
and half style. Since the evolutionist is instructing 
us, we have a right to more definite information than 
generalizing statements, such as that man was created 
out of "organic dust." This long, intricate, and in- 
credible account can by no means be drawn from 
these words : "And God made man in his own image 
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." 
Here are two parts in the process. It was the first 

1 "Ten Great Religions," James Freeman Clarke; Boston and New 
York, 1892, p. 231. 



46 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

which was in the image of God. A beast is not the 
image of God no matter what life is imparted to him. 
The modified view of evolution is exposed to even 
greater objection than the radical view. The believer 
in it is on a side hill. He must go up or down. To 
accept asa " method of creation " an unproven theory 
is unsafe in the extreme. It is simply a "refuge of 
lies " which time and investigation and the word of 
God, and above all the judgments of God, will inevi- 
tably sweep away. 

This theory not only is not taught in Scripture but 
cannot by any means be inferred from it. A totally 
different method of creation is there taught. The two 
accounts are wholly irreconcilable as those who are 
consistent believers in either Bible or evolution admit. 
In fact, a Scripture argument for evolution is never 
presented. Its consistent follower recognizes Scripture 
as vitally antagonistic. No one need hesitate when 
he is offered the choice between the speculations of 
a confessedly unproven, disjointed, and absurd theory 
and the plain statements of a book which has wit- 
nessed the rise and fall of hundreds of conflicting 
theories, sixty of which it is said the French Academy 
of sciences disposed of in the last hundred years. 

Why should man turn from the Scriptural account 
of his origin ? What is there in it so incredible ? Given 
an Almighty God, — the necessary predicate of all 
belief, — and all is possible. Nor is there anything 
demeaning or ignoble in this origin or the account of 
it. Better trace our origin to the skies than to the 
slime of the shore. Better, more noble and more 
credible, to believe that we are the result of a care- 
fully designed plan and supernatural act, than to be- 
lieve that there came by ' ' a fortuitous concourse of 
atoms " and along the operation of accidental and 
scarcely perceptible happenings, either body or mind 
of man, and all his faculties and powers with all edu- 
cation and art and religion. Which is the most cred- 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 47 

ible ? which is the most worthy of man and God ? 
which furnishes the safest basis for hope here and 
hereafter ? To follow science, falsely so called, into 
this theory, even in a partial acceptance of it, is to 
be led by it through labyrinthine wanderings and into 
absurd and ruinous predicaments, and in its logical 
and final analysis into loss of all faith and hope. 

The claim that the narratives of Scripture are alle- 
gorical is a twin theory to evolution. They are gen- 
erally held by the same persons. A set of phrases 
has been adopted to describe and account for the 
Scripture narratives. They are styled ' ' idealized 
history." They are called allegories and poetry. To 
these terms is attached the modern literary meaning 
of fiction, a thing unknown in Scripture. Nor have 
they any of the well known characteristics of the fable, 
myth, or parable. Neither in the accounts them- 
selves nor in any other places are they so spoken of ; 
but on the contrary, they are set forth as veritable 
narratives, and wherever Scripture elsewhere refers 
to them, it speaks of them so. The silence of the 
writers of Scripture as to there being any doubt of the 
literal truthfulness of these accounts would of itself 
be sufficient to give us the warrant of their authority. 
Surely Moses, Solomon, and Paul must have known the 
truth, yet they never intimated the slightest doubt as to 
the literalness of any of their narratives. It is the first 
rule of literary criticism that a writer is to be understood 
as he intends to be understood, and there is not the 
first scrap of evidence that they intended to be under- 
stood otherwise than literally. 

But there is greater authority still. We must add 
to this testimony the witness of Him who spake as 
never man spake, and who said of the future, " If it 
were not so, I would have told you." It is inconceiv- 
able that Christ would have left us in error as to 
these facts, knowing as he did that we should have to 
meet them in these latter days. We will examine 



48 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

what he did say about the truth of the Old Testa- 
ment narratives. Christ spoke of "the creation 
which God created." 1 He specifically mentions the 
creation of man, the story of the murder of Abel, 
the account of the flood. He mentions Abraham ; 
he certifies to the narrative of the destruction of 
Sodom and Gomorrah ; the giving of the manna as 
narrated ; the story of the brazen serpent ; David, 
Elijah, and Elisha, and their miraclesj particularly 
the healing of Naaman, and the story of "Jonah 
and the whale." All of these he verifies as literally 
true events. We can claim, also, Christ's testimony 
for the events not specifically mentioned. It is incon- 
ceivable that Christ would have verified parts of these 
books and remained silent as to parts not true or 
real. He taught from it, and drew his teachings from 
it, and lived the life there predicted for him, and 
obeyed its precepts. In all this he affirms its truth. 
He quoted from nearly half the books of the Scrip- 
tures. He mentions several by name as we have them. 
He refers to the whole in a single statement, "All 
things must be fulfilled which are written in the law 
of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concern- 
ing me." 2 These were the three parts into which 
the Jews divided the Scriptures, and include what 
we have to-day. He never once intimates that any 
of these were other than they claim to be. Jesus 
stands by the Old Testament Scriptures and holds 
himself responsible for their historical accuracy and 
divine origin. The apostles follow in the same re- 
gard for the Scriptures. They everywhere affirm their 
truth and rest their doctrines upon it. 

Further : seldom is there any argument or reason 
advanced for rejecting the literal interpretation of 
these narratives. It seems to be merely a matter of 
taste and prejudice. The rejected narratives are 
those which deal with ignoble, or at least familiar 

1 Mark xiii. 19. 2 Luke xxiv. 44. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 49 

things, such as the serpent in the fall; the "whale" 
part of Jonah's history ; the swine in the miracle of 
Gadara. It is a characteristic of ignorance to doubt 
exceptional occurrences in matters of every-day life, 
while accepting others far more incredible but beyond 
the range of observation. We expect this in ignorant 
people, but we do not expect it in the class advancing 
these objections. Yet this is the basis on which rests 
this whole position. Any one who can believe Jesus 
Christ rose from the dead ought logically to have no 
hesitation in accepting any other narrative in Scrip- 
ture. Yet some who profess to believe this stupen- 
dous occurrence, hesitate at these comparatively simple 
narratives. This is illogical and inconsistent. There 
are but two consistent courses — accept all or re- 
ject all. 

The religion of the Bible rests on a foundation of 
historical facts. Overthrow these and its doctrines 
are rendered uncertain. To take the miracles out of 
the Bible is not only to take away its evidences and 
the basis of all its truth, but it is to destroy the very 
structure of the Bible itself, leaving a mass of uncer- 
tain, unsanctioned teaching, to which no one need 
give heed except so far as his own interests in this life 
are concerned. The body cannot live long after its 
bones are removed. 

It is sometimes stated as an excuse for the Bible 
by those who do not accept the narratives of Scrip- 
ture, and yet cling to its moral teachings, that it is not 
a scientific book, that it does not pretend to teach 
science. This account of the Bible does not agree 
with the character of its writers as capable and 
honest, and least of all as an inspired book claiming 
to be from God. Nor does this agree with the con- 
tents of the book itself. 

The Bible is a scientific book, if teaching science 
correctly is a mark of its being such a book. The 
Bible is a standard book on jurisprudence, and its 
4 



50 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

teachings are the basis of all civilized law. It is 
supreme in ethics. It contains the model form of 
government which is more or less copied by all modern 
constitutional governments to-day. It is a standard 
work in literature. It is full of political and com- 
mercial wisdom. Its rules for personal and family 
life have, when followed, led to the highest and best 
results. It contains sound hygienic principles. Now, 
it would be strange if a book so full of all other 
wisdom should fail when it comes to speak of matters 
touching cosmogony and natural science. It would 
be more than strange that a book able to tell about 
the life to come should be mistaken as to the affairs 
of this life and world. If we cannot believe a man's 
statements, we are not likely to take his advice. So 
with the Bible. 

The Bible does not undertake to give a full account 
of every branch of science ; but wherever it touches 
the field of any science, it does so with precision. 
The geological, botanical, zoological, and archaeolog- 
ical discoveries of recent years, where they have 
proved to be facts, are in accord with the statements 
of Scripture. A few illustrations will show this. Job 
refers to the creation of the earth as follows : 4 ' He 
stretcheth out the north over the empty place and 
hangeth the earth upon nothing." 1 Long before the 
discovery of the sphericity and suspension of the earth 
and the inclination of its axis were these facts in- 
scribed in Scripture. In the prophecy of Amos occurs 
this statement, scientifically accurate as to the produc- 
tion of rain : "He calleth for the waters of the sea 
and poureth them out upon the face of the earth." 2 
The nature of the sun as a dark substance surrounded 
by a luminous flame has been already referred to. 
This is the title of it in Scripture — "light bearer." 
The great orbit of the sun has been spoken of in 
this text : ■ ' He rejoiceth as a strong man to run his 
1 Job xxvi. 7. 8 Amos v. 8. 



CHRIST IN CREVTION. 5 I 

course." In the promise to Abraham the stars are 
spoken of as the sand of the sea. It is one of the 
most recent revelations of our perfected telescopes 
that the stars are absolutely innumerable. The fig- 
ure of the sand is the very one used to express this 
amazing fact by astronomical writers. In Job again 
it is written, ' ' To make a weight for the winds. " * 
Here is stated a fact science did not discover until 
the seventeenth century. The atmosphere presses 
with the weight of fifteen pounds to the square inch. 
In motion air presses as wind according to velocity. 
Lieut. M. F. Maury, superintendent of the United 
States Observatory and Hydrographical Office, thus 
writes : — 

" ' Canst thou bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades ? ' 
It has been recently settled that the earth and sun with their 
splendid retinue of comets, satellites, and planets are all in 
motion around some point of attraction inconceivably remote, 
and that point is in the direction of the star Alcyone, one of 
the Pleiades. As for the general system of atmospheric circu- 
lation which I have been so long endeavoring to describe, the 
Bible tells it all in a single sentence : ' The wind goeth toward 
the south and turneth about unto the north : it turneth about 
continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its 
circuits.' Eccl. i : 6. Wherever the Bible speaks clearly 
on natural phenomena, it affords a valuable clue to the scien- 
tific observer." 2 

It may be remarked here that the list of objections 
to the Bible is growing less every year, as the exact 
readings, meanings, and references of Scripture are 
being ascertained, and experiment and discovery 
bring to us the actual facts. Those who are doubting 
this Book which has stood so many centuries, for 
these puerile objections, will yet have cause to be 
greatly mortified at having given way in their faith. 



1 Jobxxviii. 25. 

•"Wind and Current Charts," Washington, 1859; Vol. I, p. 17. 



52 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

When the Creator comes to the formation of man, 
there is a solemn pause and consultation! "Let us 
make man in our own image, after our likeness, and let 
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over 
the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all 
the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth 
upon the earth. " ! The creation of man is described 
as a definite event. There is no room in the narra- 
tive for any long process of development. It is in- 
teresting to note that recent archaeological discoveries 
confirm the Biblical narratives by the earliest tra- 
ditions of the human race. Professor Sayce writes of 
the deciphering of an Assyrian inscription (Acad- 
emy, July 23, 1893) : "The text I have just translated 
shows that the first man so created was Adepa. But 
in the Sumerian the character pa might also be read 
ma. So that the name of the hero of the legend 
would in this case be Adema, the Biblical Adam." 

We are to consider Christ as he contemplates this 
great work of making man. Let it be remembered 
that he was now to form a being with which he him- 
self was to be associated from this on and forever. 
That he was himself afterward to enter the life he 
was now to create, and share all its nature and what- 
ever changes and vicissitudes might come to it. We 
see from this that Christ had a personal interest in 
the formation of that being called man ; further, that 
the being now to be made was to be not only the 
summit of all created things but was to be a partaker 
in the nature of God himself. " In our image" was 
the plan of the Godhead for man. He was to be like 
God in being a spirit, infinite in his possibilities, eter- 
nal in his existence, and eventually unchangeable in 
his destiny and character, and to possess wisdom, 
power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He 
was to be like God the Father in supremacy over all 
created things. He was to be like Christ in created 

1 Gen. i. 26. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 53 

mediatorship between all lower beings and their Cre- 
ator. He was to be like the Holy Spirit in being a 
life-giver to others. 

The creation of man is illustrated to us under a 
figure of mechanical operation, that of the potter and 
the clay : ' ' And the Lord God formed man of the 
dust of the ground." 1 The inspired account presents 
a figure everywhere understood, even by the lowest 
tribes ; for the molding of vessels of clay is perhaps 
the most universal art. In civilized lands it is applied 
to the representation of the internal organs as well 
as the full and perfect human figure. Every sinew 
and organ and gland have been represented by the 
plastic art. And that which the potter and anatomist 
has done the Creator of the potter and anatomist 
could surely do. But the same figure is also used of 
all subsequent human beings coming by natural birth. 
Elihu said, ' ' I also am formed out of the clay. " 2 
Paul, quoting Isaiah, uses the same figure : " O man, 
who art thou that repliest against God ? Shall the 
thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst 
thou make me thus ? Or hath not the potter a right 
over the clay, from the same lump to make one part 
a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?" 3 
Even the evolutionist, Prof. Drummond,* uses the 
same figure: "By a magic which has never yet 
been fathomed the hidden Potter shapes and reshapes 
the clay." 

It was or will be easily conceived to be a kind of 
art altogether different from that of man. Lange 
thus writes : — 

"The process presented in Scripture, however difficult to 
be understood, conceptually, is the opposite of mechanical 
formation. It is the distinction between human and divine 
art. God does not stand on the outside, like a human artist, 
and by means of tools and shaping processes introduce his 
idea into the work. It is the word and idea working from 

1 Gen. ii. 7. 2 Job xxxiii. 6. 3 Roin. ix. 20, 31. 

* "Ascent of Man," New York, 1895, p. 71. 



54 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

within. The outward material organization is its product in- 
stead of its cause." 1 

Mr. Huxley describes both the same figure and 
the process in the beautiful description he gives of the 
hatching of the salamander's egg : — 

" It is as if a delicate finger traced out the lines to be oc- 
cupied by a spinal column and molded the contour of the 
body ; pinching up the head at one end, the tail at the other; 
fashioning flank and limb to due salamandrine proportions in 
so artistic a way, that, after watching the process hour by 
hour, one is almost involuntarily possessed by the notion that 
some more subtle aid to vision than an achromatic would show 
the hidden artist with his plan before him, striving with skil- 
ful manipulation to perfect his work." 2 

The Psalmist in describing his own formation, has 
also followed the same process as to himself : ' ' Thine 
eyes did see mine unperfect substance, and in thy 
book were all my members written, which day by day 
were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. " 3 
There is substantial agreement between the statements 
of Scripture and the revelations of science as to two of 
the three great facts of the problem. The material 
was earthy, the formation a process corresponding to 
natural embryonic growth. The point of disagree- 
ment is that the Scripture speaks of a de-novo cre- 
ation. He who believes in God can believe he could 
produce a human being under conditions unknown to 
us, and yet as naturally as the formation of all sub- 
sequently born. The absence of the matrix is not 
an insuperable difficulty to an omnipotent God. 

The Scripture narrative of the creation of Adam's 
psychical and spiritual natures is as follows : God 
"breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and 
man became a living soul." * Here is the work of the 
Holy Spirit seen afterward when Christ ' ' breathed 
upon them, and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost," 5 

1 " Commentary on Genesis ; " New York, 1869, p. 146. 

8 " Lay Sermons," New York, 1871, p. 261. 

8 Ps. cxxxix. 16. * Gen. ii. 7. 6 John xx. 22. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 55 

and so imparted spiritual life to the disciples he had 
formed. When this spiritual illustration of the cre- 
ation of Adam is added to the divine plan of the first 
man — "Let us make man in our image, after our 
likeness " — and the actual work, — ' ' And God cre- 
ated man in his own image, in the image of God 
created he him," 1 — we see that by no possible allow- 
ance can original man have been a savage or a " cave- 
man. " Lange thus writes upon this : — 

" The primitive divine impulse in the first man and in the 
first race, makes them something very different from what 
is now called the savage state, and which is everywhere 
found to be the dregs of a once higher condition, the setting 
instead of the rising sun, the dying embers fast going out 
instead of the kindling and glowing flame. All past and 
present history may be confidently challenged to present 
the contrary case. Among human tribes, wholly left to 
themselves, the higher man never comes out of the lower. 
Apparent exceptions do even, on closer examinations, confirm 
the universality of the rule in regard to particular peoples, 
while the claim as made for the world's general progress can 
only be urged in opposition by ignoring the supernal aids of 
revelation, that have ever shown somewhere, directly or col- 
laterally, on the human path." 2 

The creation of woman followed that of man. 
This agrees with the facts. Physiologically, woman 
is a fairer and finer creature than man. She is more 
refined in texture of skin and bone and hair, more 
delicate in form and nerves, more beautiful in face, 
more quick in intuitions, more sensitive in feelings. 
All this testifies that she came after man and was 
made of more refined material. This is the account 
of Scripture: "And the Lord God caused a deep 
sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept ; and he took 
one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof : 
and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the 
man made he a woman, and brought her unto the 
man. And the man said, This is now bone of my 

1 Gen. i. 26, 27. 

a "Commentary on Genesis," New York, 1869, p. 355. 



56 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

bones and flesh of my flesh." 1 There are four wit- 
nesses to the truth of this narrative. First, the 
Scripture writer, who records it ; second, Adam, who 
affirms the account ; and, third, the Holy Spirit, who 
inspires both. In addition to these we have the tes- 
timony of Christ himself in these words : • ' Have ye 
not read, that he which made them from the begin- 
ning made them male and female." 8 Here Christ 
verifies both the authenticity and truth of the narra- 
tive and also the facts as related. Delitzsch thus 
writes upon this : — 

"What thus became independently existent in the woman, 
had existed previously in Adam. We say it was in him, not, it 
was his ; for a glance at Scriptural passages such as Luke xx. 
35; 1 Cor. vi. 13, which point to the abolition of bodily distinc- 
tion of sex in future life, instructs us that, as the end is the ful- 
filment of the beginning, Adam was externally sexless. But 
being externally sexless, the distinguishing of the sexes was 
effected by a separation of opposites, which up to that time 
had been united, not outwardly, as pertaining to Adam, but 
inwardly in him ; and the bodily distinctions of sex are only the 
external manifestation of the bodily organism transformed in 
conformity with that inward separation." 3 

This agrees with the original account, ' ' In the 
image of God created he him ; male and female 
created he them," and also with physiological facts. 

Woman's nature and sphere are here declared. 
She is not self-derived nor independently created. 
"The head of the woman is the man;" "The 
woman is the glory of the man ; " " The man is not 
of the woman but the woman of the man : for neither 
was the man created for the woman but the woman 
for the man."* 

In all this Eve was a type of the church, to which 
Christ was to occupy a similar relationship. In her 
creation is seen a forecast of the broken body and 

1 Gen. ii. 21-23. 2 Matt. xix. 4. 

3 "System of Biblical Psychology," Edinburgh, 1869, p. 123. 
* 1 Cor. ii. 3, 7-9 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 57 

pierced side of Him who was to so bring to himself 
his eternal companion. Adam himself was a type of 
his Lord. He stood at the head of the race as Christ 
does of his race spiritually. So also the process of 
formation is the same as in the church, — building. 
Everywhere the church is spoken of as formed upon 
the foundation of Christ by building. The purpose is 
also the same, — fellowship and increase. The figure 
of the woman is always used in Scripture to represent 
the church, and the mission and place of the church 
is best understood when so looked upon. 

In the description of man's primeval home there 
is every evidence of a literal account. The names of 
rivers and places are given, and we can identify them, 
and locate them approximately. Here are none of 
the characteristics of the fable or myth. It agrees 
with what we know from secular sources of the begin- 
ning place of the human race. Nearly every nation 
has traditions corresponding more or less to this 
account. It was the right center from which to 
effect the distribution of the race. From this spot 
radiate the three great continents and great seas. 
Eden was to be the center of the earth. From this 
they were to disperse, and to this they were to return 
as their center of worship and of government. Eden 
was to have spread over the earth. Civilization was 
also contemplated ; for here was gold, the essential 
and peculiarity of civilization. Without a standard 
of value no great commerce is possible. The pre- 
cious stones represent luxury and adornment, another 
essential or accompaniment of a civilized state. There 
is here contemplated, not a race of savages, but culti- 
vated, educated, sinless beings — a civilization without 
sin or shame. 

The verdict pronounced on all by the Creator was, 
"All very good." It is to-day, although sharing in 
the results of sin, a beautiful world, and displays its 
Creator's purpose for man and love to him. But as 



58 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

it came fresh from its Maker's hand, it was a radiant 
jewel. It was at this point, doubtless, that heaven's 
hallelujah was heard: "The morning stars sang to- 
gether and all the sons of God shouted for joy." 1 It 
presented such glory as no other sphere could ex- 
hibit. Its brightness was less than that of many 
others, but no other could show such perfection of 
finish and infinity of detail. Seen from a distance, 
as John saw the New Jerusalem, it was a jewel of 
green and blue, tipped at either end with burnished 
silver. It was curtained in fleecy clouds, which by 
partly concealing, enhanced its beauty. Closer ex- 
amination revealed it swarming with an infinity of 
living things in endless variety of form and color and 
motion. There is no shape or combination of form 
or color which can not be duplicated in nature. Ex- 
amining still more closely and critically, it is seen to 
present everything that can please the sight, gratify 
the palate, or delight the hearing, not only for the 
simple needs of the first pair, but for countless genera- 
tions yet unborn, and ages to come, and conditions 
which had not yet appeared. The need of clothing, 
fuel, and light had been foreseen and provided for. 
The use of animal food, material for building, metals 
for money, and tools and materials for means of trans- 
portation, — all are there. When Christ built this 
world, he stored it with all necessaries to last it 
throughout its endless journey. 

We cannot conceive, after reading this verdict : 
"All very good," that there was anything but peace 
and happiness in this creation. Whatever might 
have been the case in the former world, this was a 
blessed place. The animals as well as man were 
vegetarians. 2 Here, then, is the absence of that 
ravaging and tearing with tooth and claw by greater 
creatures of lesser ones. The reconstructed earth 
tells us what that world was : ' ' The wolf shall dwell 

1 Job xxxviii. 7. a Gen. i. 29, 30. 






CHRIST IN CREATION. 59 

with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with 
the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the 
fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 
And the cow and the bear shall feed, and their young 
ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat 
straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play 
on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall 
put his hand on the basilisk's den. They shall not 
hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain." 1 This, 
then, was the state of earth when God said, ' ' It was 
all very good." This was and is God's purpose for 
earth and all that it contains. This state in which 
we live is an interregnum. Suffering is an interloper ; 
tears and sighs are abnormal ; graves are excressences. 
None of these are inseparable from earth and man. 



We can now review the plan on which Christ 
formed all things, and their purpose. The following 
scripture declares all this : " In him were all things 
created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things 
visible and things invisible, whether thrones or prin- 
cipalities or powers ; all things have been created 
through him, and unto him ; and he is before all 
things and in him all things consist." 2 

The one thing clearly seen in nature is design. A 
great operation is seen advancing on the lines of a 
pre-arranged plan. To this every change conforms. 
From this no creature ever deviates. In this every 
organism has a place, and fills it. All work harmoni- 
ously together in air and earth and sea to carry on 
the purpose of the common design, as if one supervis- 
ing intelligence was directing each individual thing 
and class, here pushing that one on and there holding 
another back, and animating all and leading all to the 
completion of a great and supreme purpose. In the 
inspired account we see the production of life during 
1 Isa. xi. 6-9. ■ Col. i. 16, 17. 



60 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

successive periods by well-defined stages, from lower 
to higher forms, culminating in man. The Scriptural 
order is the scientific order of complexity, perfection 
of organism, and historical appearance. The same 
accuracy is discerned in the enumeration of the plants. 

The order is the botanical one — ' ' grass, herb, 
tree." In all this is also seen the adaptation of the 
lower to the use of the higher as is seen in their prior 
creation. The Master Workman planned and made 
a full unbroken assortment. Species and varieties 
have been from time to time dropped out, but the 
original plan shows no gaps, no unfilled places either 
in the design or sphere of nature. The Creator be- 
gan at the lowest type and worked up, each succeed- 
ing type being an improvement upon that which 
preceded it. This beautiful order of created things 
shows a working up to some great plan, which is to 
be the culmination of all and the embodiment of all. 

The plan of creation is also seen advancing upon 
interior lines in the individual organism. Embri- 
ology shows that all living things start life alike. 
The germ of all plants and animals is the same. 
Neither chemical analysis nor microscopic examina- 
tion can discern any difference. In its growth each 
organism passes up through all those lower forms 
until it comes to the level of its own predetermined 
existence, when it stops and emerges into its life. 
The next higher beginning its journey at the same 
point, advances through the same stages, but goes on 
a stage further, so also with the next and each suc- 
ceeding creature. Each is laid out upon the same 
plan, and is perfect so far as it goes. 

Both these courses of development — the external 
advance of all from lower to higher organisms and the 
internal advance of the individual — are aiming at the 
same point of perfection, and find at last their goal to 
be the same. Both meet in the same ideal organism 
— man, which was the plan on which all these were 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 6 1 

formed. Man is the ideal of all lower forms. They 
are created ' ' unto him. " They are laid out on the 
human outline, and fill out the form to a greater or 
less degree. The Creator had man in mind when he 
made them, and he had them in mind when he made 
man. Creation is thus seen to be one plan and 
organism. Man has often been called a microcosm 
of the universe. In his body are found all the con- 
stituent parts of the inorganic world. Every sun, no 
matter however great, every star, however distant, is 
represented in the physical composition of the human 
body. In a closer and more vital way he represents 
all living things. In the growth of the embryo he 
passes up through every phase of organic life. He 
lives for a little time the life of each lower kind of 
being, and arrives at the end of his journey, having 
reached that which all others failed of attaining. 
Man fills out the full plan of the lower creation. 

But man was not the ultimate plan. He was 
made in the ' ' likeness of God, " and this scripture we 
are considering tells us the special meaning of this 
likeness. It was in the image of Christ man was 
made. Christ was the special ideal to which man 
was measured. As all things of the lower forms of 
life look to man as their ideal, so man looks to Christ 
as his ideal. Christ was before all things, and looking 
to him as the ultimate plan, "in him were all things 
created." He represents the full wisdom of God, 
of which every other thing is but a part. God saw in 
Christ his ideal, and in creation worked it out. Crea- 
tion is a manifestation of Christ. Every part and 
thing in creation is a reproduction of the divine 
nature as seen in Christ. Christ worked himself into 
creation as he does spiritually into those who are the 
subjects of the new creation. The converse of this is 
true, — " In him all things consist." In Christ is ev- 
erything represented — the material universe in all its 
elements, life in all its forms, from the lowest organ- 



62 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

ism in the ascending scale to man ; and from man up 
through the higher forms which inhabit the, as yet to 
us, unseen world ; and to God himself — all are rep- 
resented "in him." They are created "unto him," 
and are found "in him" in all their constituents. 
Christ is the bond of the universe, for "in him all 
things consist. " He is that which holds it together. 
He not only unites God and man, but all creation is 
united together in him. Creation is a unity, and 
Christ is its bond and center. Creation is therefore 
holy. It is the house of God, that larger house of 
which Christ spake when he said, ' • In my Father's 
house are many mansions. " 

Further: "In him all things consist." Creation 
depends on Christ. The correlation of forces is a 
well-known fact. They are interconvertible. Light 
can be changed into chemical action, and that into 
heat, and that into motion, and that again into light. 
And this order can be reversed. The conclusion is 
inevitable that these are forms of one and the same 
force, or are various operations of some common 
central force. Scripture shows this to be the emana- 
tion of the divine energy, which is the power of the 
Holy Spirit operating in force, organic life, psychical 
activity, and spiritual power. We know the Holy 
Spirit proceeds from God through Christ. Christ 
therefore is the immediate source of all life. That 
which we call gravity, and its compensatory force 
which we call centrifugal, all forms of chemical 
action, all organic life of plants and animals, all that 
varied animation which throbs in man and lifts him 
above all creation, that higher form of life which 
expresses itself in prayer and piety and self-sacrifice, 
all that further power by which immortal beings live 
and exercise their mighty powers, — every one of 
these forms of life depends on Him "in whom all 
things consist. " In him all things live and move and 
have their being. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 63 

In a still higher sense, ' ' In him all things consist. " 
He is "the firstborn of all creation." He is, as has 
been seen, the great universal Prophet, Priest, and 
King. Mediatorial work was and is needed for crea- 
tion as well as for sinful man. Together they came, 
and together they fell. But in another sense and a 
broader sense Christ is the great Mediator between 
all things and God. Sin and death came long before 
man. Leaves faded, animals died, angels sinned, 
before man had a being. All these needed a media- 
tor. We must ever bear in mind that we are not all 
of creation, and that the work of Christ extends far 
beyond the bounds of man. Creation needed a 
Saviour as well as a Creator. We can distinguish 
between Christ's work as universal Mediator and as 
man's Redeemer. The former is much older and 
wider than the latter. It is in this wide sense all 
things consist in him. 

"Unto Him" were all things created. Christ is 
the owner and heir of all creation. He is so by the 
three rights of Primogeniture, Redemption, and Vic- 
tory. But we are now considering the first only. 
This has been referred to as coming from his being 
the "first-born of all creation." Every foot of land 
on earth is Christ's. The silver and the gold are his. 
Every living thing is his. He has the original deed, 
and has never conveyed title to any, save those who 
are to be joint heirs with him, in final ownership and 
occupancy. Sin is a trespasser, and Satan a robber. 
God has by this original right given Christ the fee to 
all creation. "The earth is the Lord's and the ful- 
ness thereof." 



If Christ is so personally and intimate.y connected 
with nature, it should reveal him, and reveal him in 
his peculiar personality and offices. It has been seen 
that there was a plan on which creation was con- 



64 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

structed, and that plan was Christ, and that Christ 
worked himself into creation. Therefore creation 
should show all of Christ and all of the gospel ; and it 
does. The argument for the existence of God from 
design seen in nature is presented in many places in 
Scripture, and has never been answered. But we are 
now to look for Christ himself in nature. It was 
man's first Bible, and for centuries it was his 
only Bible. Whoever shuts his eyes to this older 
Scripture is not wise. To it Christ turned for texts 
and parables ; to it he betook himself for comfort as 
he fled from the haunts of man, for rest and strength 
in the wilderness and mountain-top. It was to the 
Creator the apostles directed their prayer when seek- 
ing the Holy Spirit, and to him the greatest of the 
apostles appealed, to bring careless man's thoughts to 
God. 

The incarnation of Christ in nature has been 
shown. He lives in every living thing. The double 
relationship of the Christian is true of all Christ's holy 
world of created things. They are in him and he is 
in them. The earthly life of Christ is seen in nature's 
processes. Every living thing is born as he was. In 
solitude and silence everything that hath life is born 
of God. Every plant and animal has its time of wait- 
ing until its hour is come, and it receives its baptism 
for service of fruit-bearing. 

The ministry of Christ is being repeated every 
day. The Son of man is still on earth. Miracles 
have not ceased. The only healing natural man can 
effect is nature's healing. Every harvest is a table 
spread in the wilderness. Every storm is stilled as 
that on Galilee. And if we would only listen, we 
would hear sermons from lilies and sparrows and fields 
of grain as in days of old. 

The cross is the great principle of nature's action. 
" Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, 
it abideth by itself alone : but if it die, it beareth 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 6$ 

much fruit." 1 The story of the cross is told when- 
ever a grain of seed falls into the ground and dying 
gives life to others. Vicarious suffering is the law of 
nature. By it come fruitful harvests and filled grana- 
ries. The struggle for existence is not the great effort 
of living things. There is a greater struggle than 
that. The aim of every organic thing is not self-pres- 
ervation but propagation. For this it lives and eats 
and toils, and at last, having accomplished that for 
which it came, it dies. The mother animal struggles 
most fiercely, not for her own life, but for that of 
her young. The plant strives to lift its head up 
through the surrounding mass to reach the light and 
blossom and bear its fruit. 

We have seen that the law of entrance into the 
kingdom of God is this : "Ye must be born from 
above." The clod cannot enter the plant sphere nor 
the plant into that of the upper animal kingdom, ex- 
cept it be born from above. The power of the upper 
kingdom must come upon it, and by its own strength 
incorporate it and make it part of itself. The six 
days' creation teaches this lesson and is set before us 
as a type of the necessary change. The first chapter 
of the Bible is a proof and type and illustration of the 
law, "Ye must be born again." There the steps of 
the change are shown. First, in the creation and 
regeneration is the Spirit of God moving in the dark- 
ness. Light is the first gift to the soul as to the dark 
world. The breath of the Spirit, the formation of a 
new heart in which the seeds of all life can grow, and 
the culmination of the work in the new man are the 
steps of the work of Christ in the soul and the earth. 
A Sabbath rest and a life in Eden follows each. 

There is faith, too, in nature. All things live there 
by faith. There is no distrust there. Each plant 
and animal lives by the day. The seed sprouts, and 
trusts that showers will come and sun will shine. 

1 John xii. 24. 

5 



66 CHRIST IN CREATION". 

The ground sparrow builds her nest beside a clod, 
and trusts that no foot will crush it, and that her 
small family will be provided for. The little ant 
goes forth on its daily ramble amid untold and aw- 
ful dangers, and doubts not it will return safely to its 
home. 

For entire consecration we must look to nature. 
There everything is wholly devoted to the will of Him 
who made it, and asks for nothing more than to do 
his will. There is no sin in nature. Every plant 
and bird and animal is perfectly holy. The little in- 
sect fluttering in the sunshine for a day, perfectly ful- 
fils its Maker's will. 

Nature tells us of another life and world. Resur- 
rection is taught by Paul in the great resurrection 
chapter 1 in the language and processes and forms of 
nature. The whole plan of Christ, the plan of the 
ages, has been disclosed in every field sown and 
reaped. Creation is a prophecy. The stars tell of 
other worlds than ours. The sunset is an open door 
into heaven through which every devout soul may 
look and see an apocalyptic vision. It comes to us 
silently in the evening of the day when weary man 
needs to be helped to his rest ; and as the rising 
shadows of the earth veil it from our sight, it sends to 
us through the twilight a parting message, — "I will 
come again." Summer is nature's account of heaven. 
We instinctively describe our heaven so. We love to 
picture it a land of green fields and crystal streams, 
of fruits and flowers. We ask where heaven is, and 
looking up, the heavens declare to us the coming 
glory of God. 

Nor is the truth of the other and sterner side left 
untold. Nature visits awful penalties on all viola- 
tors of her laws, even to death. She punishes the 
rebel and abuser of the natural laws of God. The 
fate that smites the glutton and drunkard and de- 

1 I Cor. xv. 



CHRIST IN CREATION. 67 

bauchee, the pestilence that walks through the haunts 
of filth and vice, are nature's penalties. The thunder 
and earthquake warn man of a coming day of doom. 
The fires of the volcano tell of the possible fate of 
earth, and the bottomless lake of fire living in earth's 
center verifies Scripture which says, Such is hell. 
Nature tells us some are lost. Every belated stalk 
moans in its wintry fate, ' ' The harvest is passed and 
the summer is ended; and I am' not saved." 

It is in view of all this that the apostle writes : 
1 ' The invisible things of Him since the creation of 
the world are clearly seen, being perceived through 
the things that are made, even his everlasting power 
and divinity ; that they may be without excuse." 1 
At the last great accounting, if any voice shall say, 
" I did not know," nature will answer by ten thousand 
voices, "I told you all. " Impiety is unnatural ; un- 
belief is insanity ; atheism is a crime against nature. 
Nature's gospel is despised of man as her Master's 
gospel was and is. She, like her Master, is sad 
over man's neglect. All her voices are in the minor 
key. Nature's aspects are strangely solemnizing. 
Not only the undevout astronomer is mad, but all 
are worse than mad who in Nature's temple forget 
to worship Him who made and sustains it all. It was 
this Christ had in mind when he said, ' ' If these 
should hold their peace, the very stones would cry 
out." Nature is indignant at man's impiety and re- 
bellion against their common Maker and Ruler. 

There is great comfort to the people of Christ, 
as they look out on it all, to know it is his and there- 
fore holy. We are in his temple wherever we are. 
Every stone is sacred, every foot of earth is conse- 
crated. All its many voices are sounds of praise. All 
its creatures are worshipers. As surely as from 
around the throne there rises a pure and full anthem 
of glory to God, so from all in air and earth and sea 

1 Rom. i. 20. 



68 CHRIST IN CREATION. 

there rises ai answering volume of praise. Science 
tells us all things are in motion ; nature is constantly 
vibrating with sensation ; that even stones are not 
lifeless things. Their atoms are constantly moving. 
From the lowest depths of earth to the highest and 
most distant star, creation praises God. The Psalm- 
ist describes it in these words — nature's song of 
praise : ' ' Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons 
and all deeps : fire and hail, snow and vapor ; 
stormy wind, fulfilling his word ; mountains and all 
hills ; fruitful trees and all cedars ; beasts, and all 
cattle; creeping things and flying fowl." 1 There is 
great peace for the believer in the knowledge of the 
world he lives in. He is in his Father's house ; and 
looking forward to the new earth, knowing whose it 
was and is, can say, ' ' I shall dwell in the house of 
the Lord forever." Death is only passing from the 
outer to the inner sanctuary. 

1 Psalm cxlviii. 



CHAPTER III. 



JEHOVAH. 
CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

With the advent of man, the work of Christ 
changed. Creation gave place to providence. Christ 
now began that long course of varied experiences 
with man which was to continue thenceforward for- 
ever. He then identified himself with a race from 
which he was never to be separated. 

There is a change in the name applied to Deity 
when man comes into view. The name previous 
to this event is the general name, "God." In 
Christ's special dealing with man it is the "Lord 
God." This is Jehovah, the name by which Christ 
was to be known to his own people, and in the special 
relationships he held to them. Jehovah of the Old 
Testament was Christ. The Scriptural argument is 
briefly as follows : Jehovah was often seen, while 
" no man hath seen God at anytime." Jehovah was 
the God of Abraham, and the body of believers is 
one from Abraham down, 1 and Christ is the head of 
the church. There are also distinct statements of 
Scripture to this effect : " He was in the world, and 
the world was made by him, and the world knew 
him not ; " 2 "They drank of a spiritual rock that fol- 
lowed them, and that rock was Christ." 3 The vision 
which Jesus said Isaiah saw of Jehovah was himself.* 
The prophecy, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord — 
Jehovah — " was fulfilled for Christ by his forerunner. 

1 Rom. iv. II. 2 John i. 10. 

* I Cor. x. 4. * Isa. vi. 1 ; John xii. 41. 

[69] 



70 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

It was Christ, then, who was so intimately con- 
nected with the Old Testament saints and known by 
them as Jehovah. Yet this identity is closely veiled 
both in the Old Testament and in the New. The 
above are about all the direct statements to this 
effect. The reasons will be more fully considered 
hereafter. It may be stated here briefly that he 
wished to be recognized by other means. 

The name Jehovah is one of divine origin. It 
occurs seven thousand times in the Bible. Its mean- 
ing is most comprehensive. It is an epitome of the 
whole nature, history, and work of Christ. It means 
first, "The Living One," in this expressing the work 
of creation. There is also in it the idea of ' ' the 
Ever-present One," and hence the character of Christ 
as Providence. It means further, "Covenant- 
keeper ; " and in this we see the special relation of 
Christ to the church. All that is meant by "Jesus" 
is in this older name. He was the Saviour of the 
church always. It also looks into the future ; for it 
is interpreted by himself as meaning ' • Him who was, 
and is, and is to come, the Almighty." By this 
heaven-born name, first of all, Christ revealed him- 
self to man. Dr. Newberry x gives its origin as from 
parts of three words meaning, • ' He who was and is, 
and is to come," the title Christ applies to himself in 
the Apocalypse. 

Christ's dealings with men are seen to be with 
them as individuals, families, nations, the church, and 
the race as a whole. Adam represented each and all 
of these. He was the head of the race by being first, 
by divine appointment and by fitness. The dealings 
of Christ with him therefore are illustrative of his 
attitude toward the whole. The relationship of 
Jehovah to Adam will be seen by recalling the pur- 
pose for which man was created. He was intended 
for divine companionship. The actual enjoyment of 

1 " Newberry Bible," London, 1893, p. 22. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 7 1 

this is seen by a single hint in the record, "And 
they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the 
garden in the cool of the day. " 2 The whole expres- 
sion is very suggestive, ' ' the cool of the day, " the 
time for leisure and for friendly intercourse. Jehovah 
is walking, looking, and calling for his companion as 
if it was a common practice and the usual time to 
meet him. It is a single glance, but it reveals the 
daily intercourse of Eden. 

After the day's occupation is over, the divine Son 
seeks his human brother for loving intercourse. It 
reminds us of the same Christ on the Mount of Olives 
or in the home at Bethany, where loving friends lis- 
tened to his words. It was for Christ, as well as the 
happy recipient of his confidence, a foretaste of the 
fellowship of eternity. He spoke of this time after- 
ward in these words, ' ' My delight was with the sons 
of men." 2 It was not for Christ the fellowship of an 
equal being as was the fellowship with the Father ; 
but it was with one who like himself was in the im- 
age of God and therefore could hold intercourse with 
him as no angel could. Each, although in a vastly 
different way, was a son of God. Each had a place 
in the great plan, each looked forward to the realiza- 
tion of it as the consummation to be longed for. 

Adam was as yet not suited for the exalted privi- 
lege of fellowship eternally with God the Father. 
He was holy, but untrained ; and therefore as to 
experience, immature. The first attitude, therefore, 
of Christ toward man was that of instructor. The 
Great Teacher began with his first pupil. Adam had 
this advantage over all his children in this beginning 
of his education, in that he had all his faculties in 
primeval perfection. The volumes out of which the 
Great Teacher instructed his first pupil, were Ex- 
perience, Nature, and Revelation. They are the 
means of the instruction of his descendants from that 
1 Gen. iii. 8. 2 Prov. viii. 31. 



72 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

day to this. They seem to have been given to him 
in the order named. 

The first lesson was obedience. The Lord put 
him in the garden to dress it and keep it. 1 It is the 
first necessary lesson of youth. Obedience is the law 
of the family, the foundation of society ; and as will 
be seen, one thing the whole story of man's experi- 
ences is designed to teach. This was joined to re- 
sponsibility. The keeping of the garden was his 
charge. Work was the first thing given to man. It 
was not the penalty of sin, nor is it a penalty at all. 
It is the condition of life, and always has been, and 
always will be. However high the creature rises in 
the scale of being or the plane of privilege in this 
world or any other, the law of his welfare will be 
work. When any living thing stops working, it be- 
gins to die. Work is the law of life. Christ gives 
his own example and that of his Father when he 
said, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." 
But in neither case was it toil. For man that came 
later. 

A lesson in the book of nature is related : The 
birds and the animals were brought unto the man ' ' to 
see what he would call them, and whatsoever the 
man called every living creature, that was the name 
thereof." 2 The inference is plain that there was a 
knowledge of the nature of these creatures on Adam's 
part, and this came either from previous instruction, 
or experience, or both. It is a fair inference that 
Christ did not stop with the creatures, but that 
plants and the stars and all the many chapters of 
nature were opened and perused by this quickest 
scholar who ever lived. It is inconceivable that with 
such a mind in its virgin power and with such a 
teacher there should have been any hesitation in de- 
siring on the one hand, or any unwillingness to im- 
part on the other. Undoubtedly all the sciences in 

1 Gen. il 15 *Gen. ii. 19. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 73 

all their length and depth were unrolled before that 
ready learner. With perfect wisdom as teacher and 
faultless faculties in the pupil, learning advanced with 
such progress as is unknown to us. We have been 
trying to regain a little of that which our great ances- 
tor had in all its fulness. It is certain that the first 
man was the greatest in natural ability and the best 
educated in all scientific truth that the world has ever 
had. Only by the same divine teacher can we regain 
his level of intellectual attainment. 

It was especially by what we call revelation that 
Christ instructed Adam. Here was one capable of 
receiving the most exalted truths. All his faculties 
were in divine perfection. The body was unclogged 
by gross food or deadening drink or stupefying lust. 
The mental powers were in all the strength in which 
they were created. He was ' ' in the image of God. " 
In the closeness of this loving fellowship, truth flowed 
unimpaired from mind to mind. The story of creation 
was then no doubt revealed to Adam as we have it 
recorded in Genesis. The account is so orderly and 
so correct as compared with science in all particulars, 
it is withal so simple and so dignified that it bears all 
the marks of a divine hand. We may feel sure that 
the first chapter of Genesis was spoken by the same 
mouth as the last chapter of Revelation. Christ was 
the Alpha and the Omega of Scripture. No doubt 
the future was also then made known to Adam. 
There was surely given to him also, some intimation 
of his own place in the great plan of the ages, and the 
responsibility which rested upon him as leader of the 
great company who were to come. 

But this was more than a state of training for 
Adam. It was one of probation also. He was not 
yet fit by nature for the exalted place God designed 
him for. His nature is thus described by the apostle : 
' ' The first man is of the earth, earthy. " 1 Adam was 

1 1 Cor. xv. 45-48. 



74 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

not a spiritual being yet. The same change had to 
take place for Adam as for all his descendants since. 
His was not an immortal body. ' ' Dust thou art " 
was true of him from his creation. It is interesting 
to consider what would have been the change which 
would have fitted Adam for his eternal state. Of one 
thing we are sure, — it would not have come by death. 
Death was no part of God's plan for man. He would 
probably have been translated as Enoch was, at the 
close of his appointed life-time, probably a thousand 
years, of which all afterward fell a little short. It 
is not necessary to suppose that he would have been 
on probation all that time. There was placed within 
his reach a means by which he could attain to the 
certainty of that happy state at any time. We often 
wonder what would have been the state of man on 
earth if sin had not entered. One thing is certain, 
Christ would have always been with man in visible 
and daily fellowship. Every blessing would have 
flowed from the presence of Christ on earth. Eden 
would long since have covered the earth. Millions 
of happy creatures would have been translated to 
heaven. 



The question is often asked, Why did God permit 
the fall. Looking back as we do through the history 
of redemption, and having looked forward from the 
view we took from the eternal past, we see that 
the fall was foreseen from the beginning. Indeed, 
knowing human nature as we do, each one must feel 
that created beings left to their own choice will fall 
sooner or later. This only makes the question more 
difficult. Why, knowing this to be the certainty, or 
at least the possibility, did Christ create them, give 
them free will, and expose them to temptation ? He 
knew it would result as it did. He foresaw that it 
would devastate Eden and plant earth with misery. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 7$ 

From that awful issue then opened would flow a 
stream of evils which would call for all his own 
mighty power to stay and overcome, and cause him 
shame, agony, and death. It is enough for the be- 
liever to know it was the will of God. God's will 
needs no defense. It is the standard of righteous- 
ness. This is to be fully demonstrated before all the 
universe, but now we must believe it to be so by 
faith. 

We are not left wholly in the dark, however, as 
to the purposes of God, and he invites our inquiry 
that we may see and learn and believe. We say, and 
in a sense correctly, that God does all things for his 
own glory. But to think of this glory apart from the 
welfare of the beings of his creation, is not the Scrip- 
tural idea of the glory of God. To say that God al- 
lowed man to fall that he might in his recovery 
display his power and grace, is to attribute to God 
purposes and actions which do not give him glory, but 
the reverse. For a father to allow a child to become 
sick and suffer in order that he may show his skill 
in the methods for his recovery, is cruelty. God did 
not and does not so seek glory. Nor was the first 
purpose of God the salvation of the lost. Had this 
been all, he could have saved all by preventing the 
fall of any. The only satisfaction to the mind, aside 
from the attitude of simple faith, is the discovery of a 
reason or reasons great enough to justify the permis- 
sion of sin and suffering. While we cannot solve this 
greatest of questions which has perplexed the wisest, 
we may inquire into it and find some light upon it, or 
at least see that there can and must exist sufficient 
reasons, although to us unknown. 

Recalling the view taken of the eternal past, we 
discovered that the distant view reveals the existence 
of a great plan in the mind of God for this world and 
man and all ages and beings to come. Part of this 
plan, as we have seen, is the securing of a race of 



j6 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

beings who shall be fit for use by him, and coopera- 
tion with him in his great, eternal purposes. They are 
to be with God as children with their father. They 
are to live with Christ as a wife with her husband. 
It is evident that there must be on both sides not 
only love but perfect confidence. They must trust 
God fully, and God must be able to fully trust them 
also. They must have an established reliability 
which will stand true under any test, and be abso- 
lutely devoted to God's interests, and perfectly and 
whole-heartedly and gladly submissive to his will. 
They must accept and believe without a shadow of 
doubt that God's will is best and right, and be im- 
movably fixed in this conviction. This faith is the 
only ground from which can spring that love which is 
the bond of the union God desires. 

God could have made beings so from the first, 
infallible and unchangeable. But the character of 
such beings would be fixed by decree as is the char- 
acter of brutes or rocks. They would be holy be- 
cause they could not be otherwise. They would 
remain faithful to him by the same kind of law which 
keeps a stone in its place. It is evident that such 
beings would not be suitable for the companionship 
of God and the high destiny he has in mind for them. 
God could have kept Adam in a state of unconscious 
and untempted innocence by allowing no means of 
temptation. But to give a being free will and then 
no possibility of alternative choice would be farcical. 
Such a state would be little different from the last 
described. 

None of these conditions, then, nor any other con- 
ceivable one, could be the permanent state of such 
beings as God created. We can see from all the past 
history of God's dealings with his people as well as 
our own experience, what this character must be and 
how obtained. There is a character which can only 
be obtained by choice of right, struggle against sin 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. TJ 

and for right, and victory. Even Christ submitted to 
this process. He was ' ' tempted in all points as we 
are." He was "made perfect by suffering. " There 
is for us a necessity in this. Only by falling can we 
learn the value of standing ; only by sickness do we 
appreciate health ; only by failure do we learn the 
worth of success. 

For the production of such beings there must be 
capacity of choice, and opportunity of choosing. 
They must have an alternative choice. They must 
know both sides, and by turning from wrong to right, 
exercise purpose and will. There must follow this 
choice a proof of it by struggle against sin and vic- 
tory over it. From this there comes a knowledge of 
the awful nature and effects of sin and a detestation 
of it, and a full and hearty committal to right and 
God. They must learn by full and repeated trial that 
the will of God is best and right, and that for them 
there must be no other way. But there must be more 
than this. They must be led by hope, and see in 
God the future bright with promise for them and all. 
Still further, they must be bound to God by love, and 
this from a deep sense of his goodness to them. 

There is to be one lesson such beings must once 
for all learn. The evidence of God's faithfulness will 
be forever established. The severest temptation 
which besets the believer now is when by distress or 
by apparent failure in answer to prayer, it seems as if 
God either did not hear or did not care for him. To 
doubt God's love, or at least his care, was the first 
and has been the constant temptation of the Chris- 
tian. Faith in God will always be the bond of the 
soul to God and the source of power. This will be 
established by the repeated trials and proofs of life. 
It will appear that there has been no neglect by God 
of the smallest of his creatures, that every prayer 
was answered, that with all our mistakes and sins, 
all things worked together for good to each believer. 



78 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

All this will give deep and immovable faith in God 
which cannot be shaken. 

There was more involved in the demonstration 
begun in Eden than the welfare of those who heard 
and acted, or even their race. This world is only the 
beginning of other ages and worlds. For them, as 
well as this, the test was made. This is expressly 
declared to be the purpose of this display of grace, 
' ' to the intent that now unto the principalities and 
the powers in the heavenly places might be made 
known through the church the manifold wisdom of 
God, according to the eternal purpose which he pur- 
posed in Christ Jesus our Lord." 1 There is no doubt 
that this purpose extends to the whole demonstration 
and for the benefit of all intelligences and ages to 
come. We are ' ' compassed about by so great cloud 
of witnesses." 2 "Which things the angels desire to 
look into." 3 All this tells us that not unto our- 
selves but to coming ages we are living and unfolding 
the purposes of God. 

The purpose undoubtedly was to settle eternal 
problems. In some world, if not in this, in some 
time, if not at this time, the question was sure to 
arise whether the will of God was best and right. 
People will think, and in eternity harder than ever. 
Given the essentials of free moral beings, and 
questioning is inevitable. It is no harm to think or 
to question provided one is open to the truth. The 
question would have to be met and settled. God 
could have met it by a display of power and might 
and silenced all opposition, but that would not be an 
answer but a supression. It would not be worthy of 
the plan which God had before him as seen in the 
ages. To silence by authority is not to settle the 
question. It would not answer the questions which 
would arise. These beings would be under a con- 
tinual reign of force which would be no such state as 

1 Eph. iii. io, II. z Heb. xii. I. 3 I Peter i. 12. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 79 

God desired, and as was best for the permanent hap- 
piness of all. Better this issue fully and fairly met 
now, and the questions answered at once, than that 
it should be left open, a constant danger ever threat- 
ening the universe, hanging like an avalanche over 
the future, to break forth perhaps when the universe 
was filled with holy, happy beings ; and, instead of 
affecting one small world, to involve the universe in 
an overthrow compared with which the sin and sor- 
row and suffering of earth and hell would be as the 
dust of the balance. 

There seems to have been but one way — to permit 
an actual experiment and demonstration of the whole 
question. To this end sin must be allowed to present 
itself in all its hideous nature and effects ; suffering 
must follow, and sorrow deep and widespread must 
be felt and endured. When this great experiment is 
over, every question will be forever settled. Every 
alternative opposed to the will of God will have been 
tried on this earth. Every problem will have been 
solved. It will be apparent as the noon-day sun to 
all intelligences that all has been passed through the 
crucible of actual demonstration. The verdict from 
this will be that there is but one standard of right, 
but one way of happiness, but one way of holiness, 
and that is the will of God. The participants in this 
struggle are to be rewarded for their part in this sad 
stage of suffering by correspondingly and vastly in- 
creased benefits hereafter. They are to have the 
highest state in that kingdom to come. They are to 
be the closest to God in all the universe. They are 
to bear responsibility and power for which their long 
training has fitted them. 

The age of sin came at the very beginning of the 
long eternal plan. It was to be but a short era. What 
are a few thousand years in comparison with eternity ? 
This earth is to be the only one stained by sin. It is 
but a small one and rightly so chosen. It is large 



80 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

enough tor the scene of sin and suffering. The rec- 
ord of this world's history is being kept above. It 
will possibly be to the church in heaven as the Bible 
is to us. To this record of the great demonstration, 
reference can be made on any debated question. For 
we may be sure that questions will arise even in 
eternity, and perhaps emergencies and crises come 
where the wisdom gathered from the past will be 
used. As we look back to the little land of Israel, so 
worlds may regard this small earth and its eventful 
history. 

In the execution of the great plan there was for 
Christ also a great reward. Christ already had uni- 
versal dominion as Creator, but this is a rule by right 
and might. He longed for the rule by the free acqui- 
esence of grateful and loving beings. He sees in the 
future a sphere far greater than the reign of law. He 
sees the reign of love. He has the crown of creation 
and providence ; he covets the crown of redemption. 
He created a world of wondrous wisdom and beauty, 
but he sees in the cross a way by which he can pro- 
duce a creation which shall far transcend this in ev- 
ery element of greatness. He will give an example of 
perfect obedience to the will of God. He will by the 
cross show what the nature of sin is in such a way as 
to make it hideous. He will thereby so show the 
awful penalty of transgression as to fill with holy fear 
of sin all beings forever. He will by his sacrifice 
thereon show the love of God in his death so as to 
hold by the bonds of love forever those whom he has 
won from sin to God. There is to appear by reason 
of the presence of sin, and as its great antidote, 
that matchless attribute of God in Christ — grace. 
" Where sin abounded grace did abound more exceed- 
ingly." 1 In spite of the mighty influences sweeping 
about poor, swaying man, he was to be irresistibly 
drawn away from all, and to be fixed in the love 
of God. 

1 Rom. v. 20. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 8 1 

The tree of life was Adam's gospel. By eating 
of it, he could attain to the same condition as one 
who is in Christ now. The tree of life contained 
symbolically the gospel of Christ as we have it to- 
day, save that it was a bloodless gospel. It was for 
a sinless race, and therefore no shedding of blood 
was needed. Adam's salvation was to be had as 
ours is. The believer is saved by faith in Christ. 
Faith implies repentance. The latter is a turning 
away from sin, and the former is a turning to 
Christ. There was before Adam the tree of the 
knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. 
His salvation was to be by turning away from the 
one and turning to the other. In short, Adam was 
to be saved just as we all are, by repentance from 
sin, and faith in Christ. There was no different cove- 
nant or salvation from that which has existed ever 
since. For even with Israel faith was the condition, 
and obedience its test. Adam, Abraham, Israel, the 
believer, and the world have all the same gospel. 

The strangest thing in all this narrative was the 
fact that Adam did not eat of the tree of life. This 
is apparent from the divine message at his expulsion 
from the garden : ' ' And now, lest he put forth his 
hand and take also of the tree and eat and live for- 
ever, therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the 
garden of Eden." 1 We can scarcely understand how 
he should so neglect the greatest thing in the garden. 
This indicates something wrong and deep seated. 
He doubtless felt secure in the possession of such 
abilities and privileges. 

Perhaps he did not feel his need of the means of 
grace and life. Under all was either pride in his own 
sufficiency, or doubt as to the efficiency of the tree, or 
unbelief in the certainty of the consequences. There 
was pride in some form doubtless. Whatever it was, 
we see clearly that the fall was no suddenly sprung 
attack from without. It is according to the method 

6 * Gen. iii. 22, 23, 



82 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

of the tempter that there should be a preparation for 
temptation. The readiness with which Eve and 
Adam yielded shows a weakening of resisting power. 
As to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, there 
was commanded him, "Of the tree of knowledge of 
good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day 
thou eatest of it thou shalt surely die." 1 This called 
for simple obedience. It was a test of the main 
question as to the will of God. There was no expla- 
nation of why the knowledge of good and evil was 
not good for them. They were left with the will of 
God as their only guide, and expected to obey in 
simple faith. 

The fall began in heaven. Sin entered God's 
house before it invaded man's. Christ felt its sting 
before man felt its stab. All Scripture agrees that sin 
began with Satan. He was an angel of great power 
and glory. It was doubtless Satan who was meant in 
the following words applied to one of his earthly 
agents : ' ' Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, 
and perfect in beauty. Thou wast in Eden the garden 
of God ; every precious stone was thy covering. . . . 
Thou wast the anointed cherub that covereth : and I 
set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of 
God ; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of 
the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways 
from the day that thou wast created, till unrighteous- 
ness was found in thee. . . . Thou hast sinned ; 
therefore I cast thee as profane out of the mountain 
of God : and I have destroyed thee, O covering 
cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thy 
heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast 
corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness." 8 

There is evidently more than a mere earthly prince 
meant here. There is a strange correspondence drawn 
in Scripture between the seen and unseen, as though 
the one was the counterpart of the other. "The 

1 Gen. ii. 17. * Ezek. xxviii. 12-17. 






CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 83 

prince of the kindgom of Persia" and "the prince 
of Grecia " are earthly princes, and are declared to be 
evil spirits also. So with the ' ' prince of Tyre, " to 
whom this is applied. There seems to have been a 
close relationship between the glorious being who 
afterward became Satan, and his Lord and Master, 
Christ. Perhaps he was one of a heavenly apostleship 
who became a Judas, and fell by the same unholy 
coveting and pride. The story of that greater fall 
will be read by us when we read the Genesis of 
heaven. Christ saw the rise of the evil thought in 
the heart of the first Judas as he did in the later one, 
and no doubt gave him the repeated warnings he gave 
the latter. He is allowed liberty and even access to 
heaven. He sees the forming of the new world and 
race. Whether it was envy of Christ or coveting of 
lordship over his beautiful world, we do not know; 
but the evil purpose of effecting their ruin comes 
into his mind, and he proceeds to its execution. 
Satan's own sin and ruin long antedated this, we 
feel sure. 

The form Satan assumes is described as "the 
serpent." The name is evidently taken from the 
subsequently degraded form, and does not describe 
the original state of the creature whose personality 
he assumed or used, and which the record intimates 
was far different, the serpent shape being the punish- 
ment afterward visited upon him. The whole im- 
pression left by the account is that it was a creature 
of a beautiful or at least attractive form, certainly not 
a repulsive thing such as the serpent now is. It was 
'* more subtle than any other beast of the field which 
the Lord God had made." This is far above the 
reptile we call the serpent. It was a creature Eve 
was familiar with. She had no surprise at its accost- 
ing her or having the power of speech. Perhaps it 
was the link between man and the lower animals. 
All these are now dumb, but there is no anatomical 



84 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

reason why they should be, and doubtless some of 
them had the power of speech. Whatever this crea- 
ture was, it does not now exist, and was no doubt de- 
stroyed, perhaps perishing in the flood. 

Satan does not approach Adam directly, but 
through his wife. Adam is a type of Christ. Even 
in his fall he represents the second Adam in many 
particulars. It is through and for the church Christ 
goes down into the valley of sin. Satan first attacks 
the faith of Eve. To undermine faith in God has 
ever been his purpose. ' ' Yea, hath God said, Ye 
shall not eat of any tree of the garden P" 1 The in- 
sinuation is against God's goodness. "Is he so un- 
kind as to forbid to eat of any tree of the garden?" 
It is the temptation which assails every believer from 
that day to this, to doubt the goodness or wisdom 
of God in his dealings with ourselves. When we 
think prayer is not answered, or we do not get our 
share of the good things of life, or are hardly treated 
or forgotten by God ; when suspicion of want of love 
in God enters the heart, enmity to God is not far off. 
It was a direct meeting of the issue for which the 
whole history of man was initiated, — whether the 
will of God was best and right. 

Eve's reply, "Of the fruit of the trees of the 
garden we may eat," would have been the sufficient 
answer of a loyal friend of God. The presence of 
discontent is plainly seen in the rest of the answer, 
' ' But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of 
the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, 
neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." 2 Discontent is 
seen in the added words, " neither shall ye touch it." 
Unbelief is seen in the change of the direct threat of 
death into a peradventure — "lest ye die." Neither 
Satan nor Eve uses the name of Jehovah, but the 
ordinary name for God. Here is the ignoring of 
Christ from hatred on Satan's part, and forgetfulness 

1 Gen. iii. I. 2 Gen. lii. 3. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 85 

or something worse on Eve's part. It was, all told, 
want of faith in Christ by which the first sinner fell. 
Then came the positive side of Satan's temptation : 
' ' Ye shall not surely die : for God doth know that 
in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be 
opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and 
evil." In the former words, Satan assaults by in- 
sinuation as to God's goodness, in this he directly 
denies the truth of God's word. Discontent is a 
certain precursor of, and preparation for, unbelief. 
The rest of the account shows human nature as it 
was and is : " And when the woman saw that the 
tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to 
the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make 
one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, 
and she gave also unto her husband with her and he 
did eat." 1 The threefold nature of man is appealed 
to in the threefold temptation — the lust of the flesh 
and the lust of the eye and the pride of life. The 
spiritual course of the fall seems to have been first, 
pride in their state and superiority ; second, dis- 
content with their surroundings ; third, coveting ; 
fourth, unbelief in God's word ; fifth, disobedience ; 
sixth, shame and fear ; seventh, deception. If the 
progress is continued, hatred of God ensues, and this 
is the Satanic state. 

Adam's first part in the guilt of the fall is the fact 
that he heard and saw all and could have prevented 
all. He was "with her." He doubly sinned by 
allowing one to fall who was committed to his keep- 
ing. After the sin, shame begins its work. ' ' And 
the eyes of them both were opened and they knew 
that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves 
together and made themselves aprons." There was 
a horrible jest in Satan's promise, "Ye shall know 
good and evil." They did know it as a child knows 
fire after it is burned. They realized it first in this, 

1 Gen. iii. 6. 



86 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

1 ' They knew that they were naked. " Self-conscious- 
ness, "the bane and malady of man," had come. 
It is the torment of humanity. In its keener work 
it is conscience, and in the end unspeakable remorse 
and agony. 

The hour comes for the daily meeting with 
their loving, gracious Lord. They hide themselves. 
Hitherto they have gladly come to meet him. For 
the first time they shrink and hide and are silent. 
Christ knew all and foreknew also, but yet the actual 
occurrence was a blow to the great heart of Christ, 
as is every sin of his people still. This was the first 
of the bitter cup put to his lips to be drained to the 
dregs in Gethsemane. We must not, in the concep- 
tion of the infinite nature of Christ, clothe him with 
impassiveness. Infinity is infinity of all right feel- 
ings. Christ felt in infinite degree all we would feel 
when a loved and trusted friend doubts and sins 
against us. The record is silent, and this silence is 
more eloquent than words. He who wept over the 
unbelief of Mary and Martha at the grave of Lazarus, 
could not be impassive at the first manifestation of 
unbelief which brought sin and misery in its course. 

With the change in man the attitude of Christ 
toward man also changes. He approaches the guilty 
pair, not as the approving friend and teacher, but 
with the reserved aspect of the Judge. He has full 
understanding of the nature of the act of sin which 
man has committed, and full appreciation of the 
dreadful consequences of the apostasy, but he has 
infinite pity for the wretched couple who are com- 
ing slowly toward him in answer to his call. A 
gentle but searching question brings out the facts of 
the case in a faltering confession. Christ leaves them 
to their thoughts while he administers judgment upon 
the tempter. The wicked being is not to be allowed 
to rejoice over the condemnation of his victims or be 
a witness to their shame. Satan's case is disposed of 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 87 

first. A curse is pronounced upon him. There is no 
saving clause for Satan. Even the creature is de- 
graded who has been his medium. He is reduced to 
the level of the reptile where he will do no more 
harm of that kind. 

The curse upon Satan is as follows : "I will put 
enmity between thee and the woman, and between 
thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head and 
thou shalt bruise his heel." The purpose of Satan is 
declared by Christ in the parable of the tares, sown 
among the good seed. Satan's purpose evidently was 
to mingle his own progeny among the people of God. 
It has been his one great plan ever since. The force 
of the curse is in the fact that Christ unmasks the 
purpose of Satan to mix his children among the peo- 
ple of God, and establishes a radical distinction be- 
tween them in the enmity which shall ever exist 
between the two sides. There is irreconcilable an- 
tagonism between the flesh and the spirit, truth and 
error, the church and the world. This leads us to 
see the entrance into the world of a new order of 
beings who are averse to Christ and his people, and 
who shall war with them until the end. This double 
line has existed and shall exist until the final victory 
over sin and Satan. 

Christ now turns to his once happy, now wretched 
children. We can see that his tone, and no doubt 
his looks also, change. There is no trace of anger 
in the words, and we cannot believe there was in the 
voice. He is in the judge's place, but the heart is 
that of him who wept over Jerusalem as he pro- 
nounced its doom. The penalty threatened was, 
"In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely 
die." But that did not happen. Adam did not 
die that day nor for many centuries after. Nor 
did he die spiritually for we read that he was a son 
of God. 1 The penalty visited upon them was very far 
from being a fulfilment of the threatened death. Eve 

I Luke iii. 38. 



88 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

is given an increase of the burden and pain of child- 
bearing, and placed in subordination to her husband, 
and Adam is sent to earn his bread by the sweat of 
his brow. 

We need to enquire why Christ did not visit upon 
them the penalty, "In the day that thou eatest 
thereof thou shalt surely die." Immediate execution 
of the penalty of death was the essence of this warn- 
ing. There is a difference between man's sin and 
Satan's. Adam's sin differs from Satan's. Man 
showed shame, but we read of none, and have every 
evidence of there being none, in Satan. Satan's sin 
had a self-hardening effect at once. This effect in 
man is gradual. Satan's sin brought no forgiveness. 
It was that spiritual sin for which Scripture tells 
us there is no forgiveness. Satan's sin was the sum- 
mit of his wrong doing ; Adam's, the beginning. In 
the worst state of man there may be rebellion and 
hatred of God, but envy and ambition is only possible 
to a being of Satan's high place. Man's sin is mainly 
self-destruction ; Satan's is mainly destruction of 
others. Hence for man there is redemption ; for 
Satan, none. There is no direct disclosure in the 
record of the means of Adam's salvation from im- 
mediate death, for the time had not come for the 
revealing of the gospel of redemption. Yet there 
is some intimation of the gospel having been revealed 
to him. 

Christ closes his interview with a loving act of 
great significance — ' ' And the Lord God made for 
Adam and his wife coats of skins, and clothed them." 
Their bodies needed protection in the rough life of 
the outer jungle through which they were now to hew 
their way. The sense of shame was seen also in 
every act and look. Christ will not send them out in 
shame and nakedness. Clothing is a badge of shame, 
and therefore guilt. They were not only humbled by 
the garb of the lower animals, but they were put on 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 89 

a level of exposure with them. As these animals had 
suffered and died, so were they to suffer and die. 
They were to share the lot of creation. Henceforth 
nature and man were one, they were to suffer together 
storm and heat and hunger, thirst, disease, and death. 
Nature was involved with them, and they were made 
to suffer with all creation. 

But something more than clothing and physical 
protection was needed. What was needed for man 
now and at once was a stay of proceedings ; for the 
edict of death had gone out against him, and hung 
suspended over him. Something or some one must 
intervene, or death in all its forms must fall upon the 
guilty couple. Some one must appear, and in his 
behalf present a sufficient plea for man's immunity 
from instant death. This Christ did. He did what 
we well know he did and does for every one since, 
who comes to him in confession of sin and acceptance 
of the plea he offers. Christ stepped into man's 
place. He took upon himself the guilt of the first as 
he did of all subsequent sins of all the race from that 
day to this. No doubt the animals slain were in 
sacrifice as symbols to man of the nature of the salva- 
tion Christ obtained for him. 

The sacrificial idea is clearly presented here. The 
skins were no doubt those of the first of the long line 
of offerings slain for man. There is substitution in 
the death of these for man. The animals were prob- 
ably lambs. These were no doubt included in the 
reference to " the lamb slain from the foundation of 
the world." They typified Christ as did all the long 
line of sacrifices from that day on. Here the first 
and universal Priest began his office. Development 
will no longer do for man. To develop a sinner is 
only to develop sin, and that when it is developed, is 
death. Sin must be recognized and accounted foi 
and punished. This is the inviolable law of all right 
rule. The very throne of God rests upon this idea ol 



90 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

justice. It is because redemption recognizes this 
primal law that it is so reasonable and safe. All 
thinking persons must see that what is right is safe. 
The competency of Christ to take man's place is not 
questioned, nor his right to do so. The fact that he 
did so is stated in clear terms. It was the first step 
on the path which led to the cross. That and every 
intervention of Christ was a forfeit Christ was pledged 
to redeem by the offering of himself at an appointed 
time. By this pledge, given and accepted by infinite 
justice, and planned by infinite love, the doom of 
man was stayed. But on Christ rested the burden 
of the fulfilment and redemption of the pledge until 
he could by one offering once for all fulfil and re- 
deem all. Here, and not in the prohibition, is seen 
Christ's covenant with Adam. It was a covenant of 
redemption and not of condemnation. Grace was on 
the ground as soon as sin, and Christ's sheltering 
covenant extended over the first sinner. 

By the intervention of Christ was this first sin- 
ner saved as all have been ever since. But rela- 
tionship to God is one thing, and fellowship with 
God is another. This latter Adam lost. The conse- 
quence of the fall was the loss of Eden. Adam went 
out to toil and delve and struggle with the creatures 
for food. They find some sheltered spot and erect 
a hut and earn a scant subsistence by toil and pain. 
At the close of the weary days they throw themselves 
on the earth for rest. But it is not rest. All crea- 
tion seems against them. They are stung by in- 
sects and alarmed by the roar of wild beasts. Ma- 
laria fills their system. They have aching backs and 
throbbing heads. But the worst of all is the loss 
of that fellowship which was the joy as it was the 
life of Eden. They turn sad, longing eyes to the 
brightness which tells them where Eden is. We can 
hear their sobs and bewailings for the departed bless- 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 9 1 

ings, and bitter self-reproaches for their awful apos- 
tasy from Christ. Above all, they long for the tree of 
life. To have one taste of its fruit with its life-gi\ r ing 
power seemed to them now the summit of bliss. It 
was the first of man's sad ''might-have-beens." Wa 
read little more of Adam. There was nothing good 
worth recording in his life. He had sorrow in the 
murder of one son by another, and lived to see vice 
spread through his descendants, and at last tasted the 
results of his sin in death — a blessing to such as he. 
Eternal life in sin would have been eternal misery. 

Adam was not the only sufferer by the fall. It is 
not detracting from the divinity of Christ to say that 
he lost by Adam's fall. Christ feels all we do of 
human feelings which are not sin. Christ lost the 
sweet fellowship of Eden. In taking up the office of 
Redeemer, Christ incurred for the first time the act- 
ual burden of man's sins and guilt. The travail of 
his soul includes suffering. Every separation of a 
soul from Christ causes him pain ; what, then, must 
have been the separation of the race ! 



The plan of Christ in the age which followed the 
fall was to permit the planting of that crop to bring 
forth its harvest. Man was given perfect liberty to 
put into practice "the knowledge of good and evil" 
which he had gained. Satan said he would thereby 
be "as gods." It was now to be demonstrated 
whether Satan's way or God's was best. The hard 
lesson of experience was to be learned. In the work 
of saving man it was necessary to let man eat to the 
full of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This 
is the divine way with either individuals or worlds. 
The prodigal must be allowed to wander, lose all, 
and come to himself before he thinks of the father's 
house. 



92 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

In this case Ihf visible result seemed to be all that 
Satan had promised. \Ve read of great advances of 
every kind. "There were giants in the eartr in those 
days " and " mighty men of renown." With such ex- 
tended age and primeval vigor of body and mind, with 
Satan to help them prove he was right, there seemed 
plausibility in the assertion that they would become ' ' as 
gods." It was an age of great attainment in every 
element of civilization. We read of the establish- 
ment in the seventh generation of the three depart- 
ments of progress, — agriculture, art, and mechanical 
invention. That they understood the art of ship- 
building we see from the construction of Noah's ark 
Although this was divinely commanded and planned, 
it was constructed by uninspired workmen showing 
ability and appliances for such construction. The 
Great Pyramid was erected soon after the flood by 
the immediate descendants of this age. This is in 
some respects still the greatest of human edifices. It 
is said to bear on its stones the mark of the tubular 
and diamond drill, cutting the tenth of an inch in the 
hardest rock, with no signs of wear in the tools. 
Their conception of and attempt to construct a build- 
ing whose top should reach ' ' to heaven " shows 
ability to erect great edifices. Here are all the indi- 
cations of a great civilization. Christ describes the 
state of the world at that time : "They were eating 
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage." 1 
The outline is scant, but it reveals a merry age. 
This is the human ideal. That great civilization was 
all of Satan. It sprang from his act, and was nur- 
tured by his spirit, and was the product mainly of 
the family of Cain. 

We read of few who obeyed God. In the days 
of Seth, the third son of Adam, some began calling 
themselves by the name of the Lord. This was the 

1 Matt. xxiv. 38. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 93 

first of the long line of revivals which has blessed 
earth and man. But like all revivals it ran its course, 
and was followed by the age of unbelief. The friends 
of Christ are seen during this time running in a cer- 
tain line of descent of which Seth is the head. There 
is a second line running along side of this, the line 
of Cain. It is in this line that all the material and 
social progress appears. Before the flood these two 
lines merge by marriage and otherwise, and both 
become one in merriment, sin, and unbelief. 

Morally, it was the age of license. There was 
little law and less religion. ' ' The earth was filled 
with violence." 1 Human nature absolutely unre- 
strained was permitted to show what it could do, 
and to what it could attain. Even guilty Cain was 
unpunished, and Lamech boasted of still greater 
immunity from punishment for the murder he com- 
mitted. The moral state which came from such a 
condition was thus described: "The wickedness of 
man was great in the earth, and every imagination of 
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 
. . . All flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth." 2 

Persecution of God's people is plainly intimated : 
"The earth was filled with violence." We maybe 
sure this extended to the saints. The example of 
their ancestor, Cain, in killing Abel, and his immu- 
nity from penalty would undoubtedly encourage 
others to do likewise. Out of that civilized, pros- 
perous, and merry world but one man was right with 
God. The race was corrupt beyond endurance. 

We now come to a new phase of the character and 
dealings of Christ. ' ' And the Lord saw that the 
wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and 
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart 
was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord 
that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved 

1 Gen. vi. II. 2 Gen. vi. 5, 12. 



94 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy 
man whom I have created from the face of the ground ; 
both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of 
the air : for it repenteth me that I have made them. M1 
Here are feelings and purpose equally and plainly 
declared. There is no gain or right treatment of 
Scripture in trying to explain away this statement. 
Jehovah did feel and act as here stated. The diffi- 
culty arises partly from a wrong idea of Deity. We 
have imported into our conception of God the hea- 
then idea of impassivity. As seen, infinity is not 
absence of all feelings but infinity of all feelings. 
Further, Jehovah is the same as he who wept over 
the grave of Lazarus, and at other times was troubled 
and amazed and surprised. He is speaking as then 
in his self-limiting way, comprehensible to man. 
Further, he is speaking from the standpoint of man's 
deservings wholly, and not divine interests or necessi- 
ties. Man had forfeited any rights ; by his conduct 
he had not justified his creation. Jehovah was 
justified in repenting of making him. The treatment 
of man by Jehovah in his destruction by the flood is 
here justified. This is Jehovah taking a local and 
temporary view of man and his state, and feeling and 
judging accordingly, and doing so for the sake of all 
who were to come, that they may see reflected in his 
feeling the true nature and guilt of sin and deservings 
of sinners. 

In this we see also Christ enter upon another new 
character and office. He becomes the minister of 
justice. He comes with the purpose to sweep the 
earth clean and to begin again. In all that great 
civilization he sees nothing worth saving. He cares 
nothing for all that intellectual and material great- 
ness. All that world of beauty and grace and merri- 
ment he determines to drown out of existence. This 
he determined, and this he did. Let those who see 

1 Gen. ri. 5-7. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 95 

nothing in God but a sentimental love try to account 
for this. Christ did destroy that world with all its 
millions. The deluge is recorded as a historical fact 
in the records and monuments of all nations. God's 
great providential acts need no defense from man. 
4 ' He doeth according to his will in the army of 
heaven, and among the inhabitants of earth : and 
none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest 
thou?" 1 

In that awful outpouring of justice we see mercy. 
It would be cruelty to allow such a world to continue. 
' * My spirit shall not strive with man forever, for that 
he also is flesh " 8 is a message of mercy and pity as 
well as of judgment. The world's state was violence, 
and the certain end, universal misery. Christ's mercy 
is seen in his ministers of warning. Enoch, the 
first of the prophets, was God's messenger, the ark 
was the gospel to that old world. Every nail driven 
in it was a call to salvation. Its open door was a con- 
stant offer of mercy, and Noah's hundred and twenty 
years of preaching were one long call of Christ 
to man to come and be saved. The ark did not 
so much symbolize Christ personally as the godly life 
for the believer and his family, which will bring 
the household safe through to a new world and 
life. 3 

Christ begins the new world with a covenant to 
which he gives the rainbow as a seal. A great and 
favorable change occurs in the outward lot of man. 
The regular recurrence of the seasons is assured him, 
and the curse is removed from the earth. At the 
same time his age on earth is reduced to a seventh 
of the former time. The reign of law is introduced, 
and the special blessing of God pronounced on the 
new progenitor of the race. Man begins the long 
climb up the ascent back again to God, holiness, and 
happiness. 

1 Dan. iv. 35. 8 Gen. vi. 3. 3 Heb. xi. 7. 



g6 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 



The work of Christ and Satan is seen in strange 
parallels and contrasts. Christ made the man in the 
image of God, and Satan proposes a way by which 
they shall be as gods. Christ gives them an Eden, 
and Satan tries his way of producing a state of uni- 
versal merriment. Christ gave man liberty, and 
Satan gives him license. God gives them a covenant 
of security that there shall be no more flood, and 
Satan suggests a tower whose top shall reach to heaven. 
This is evidently more than a mere building for 
safety. It is to be the center of the government and 
religion of the earth. The experiment of the age of 
license was seen by all to be disastrous. Henceforth 
man has ever had government and religion. Babel 
was the original of Babylon, and this is the type of 
the false religion of the world. The Tower of Babel, 
the city of Babylon, and the Babylon of the Apoca- 
lypse are three representatives of the attempts of 
Satan to establish a universal religion on earth. 
Satan has always inspired a love of tower building. 
To gather great bodies and parties, to build vast 
edifices, to gather great churches, to found great 
institutions, to compile enormous figures, and then 
to fall down and worship these things, and say, " Is 
not this great Babylon which I have builded ? " this 
is the devil's idea of religion. Christ ever frustrates 
all this as he did at Babel. The confounding of the 
false is followed by the founding of the true. In the 
place where Satan obtained his following, Christ finds 
a single man, with whom he began his church. 



Genesis is the history of three great families, — 
those of Adam, of Noah, and of Abraham. Each of 
these brought to earth a new and divine institution, — 
the family, the state, and the church. These repre- 
sent respectively man's physical, social, and spiritual 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 97 

needs, and by these they are presented. In Abraham 
Christ begins the church, and by the church the res- 
toration of the world. In the development of tne 
church Christ follows the same order, the natural 
order, as in the other two institutions. He begins 
with an individual. From him comes a family, and 
then a nation, and later, a world-wide institution 
which finally is to be universal. It is one of the ob- 
jections to the Old Testament that it confined its 
religion to a single family and people. We will see 
later that the care of Christ was not confined to this 
people, and that there was a reason why the work of 
Christ in the restoration of the race should begin with 
a single man, family, and nation. This built into 
the holding power of the true faith the strength of the 
family and the nation. These three divine institu- 
tions buttressed each other. There was further rea- 
son for the choice of a single man as the beginning, 
rather than a world-wide propaganda of religion. 
The plan of divine action in spiritual things as seen 
in the Scriptures may be described alliteratively as 
Selection, Sanctification, and Service ; or to follow the 
order of nature, Christ sows the seed, allows it to 
ripen, selects the best, and sows again, and repeats the 
process. Adam was the first sowing ; from his family 
he selected Noah and sowed the earth again. From 
Noah's family he selects Abraham. Down through 
his family there is seen the same process of selection 
of Isaac as against Ishmael, Jacob as against Esau, 
and out of the twelve tribes, Judah, from whom came 
Jesus. In this, as well as in a higher sense, Christ 
was "the Seed." He represents the final result of 
this long course of sowings. The perfect Seed has 
been found. The plan of Christ was then to find a 
single man whom he could so impress, and through 
him his descendants, that he could separate them to 
himself, and from them produce a nation also so 
separated as to be thoroughly devoted to himself and 
be by him used to bless the world. It was not there- 



98 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

fore for himself Abraham was chosen, nor for them- 
selves Israel were chosen, but for the purpose of 
world-wide blessing. 

The man chosen for this high honor was one who, 
in the very seat of the false worship of Baal, re- 
mained true to God and kept himself from the idola- 
try around him, and restrained his family so also. 
He was one so true to God that on the command, 
"Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred," 
he obeyed without question, not knowing where he 
went ; giving up a settled home for the life of a wan- 
derer, and leaving home, native land, and friends for 
strangers and dangers unknown. The subsequent 
tests applied to him showed that God knew the man 
he chose to be the human head of the church, "the 
father of all them that believe," in the only sense in 
which any one can be pope or primus in the church 
of Christ. Abraham's true piety and strong charac- 
ter are seen in the fact that he was able to take 
his family with him, his father being influenced also 
to go with him. The great fact is recorded as to 
Abraham that God said of him, "I have known him." 
For two thousand years Christ had waited for such a 
man. 

The appearances of Christ to Abraham were in 
Ur, in Haran, and in Canaan. It was not until he 
reached the latter that the covenant was given him. 
The covenant was revealed to Abraham in successive 
sections. He was promised successively that he 
should become a nation and be blessed, that he 
should have the land he journeyed through, that 
he should have a special seed, and that through him 
all the nations of the earth should be blessed, and 
finally, that his seed should be as the stars of heaven 
and as the sand of the seashore for multitude. But 
this great covenant was not easily gotten. We read of 
those who through faith ' ' obtained promises. " * Every 
»Heb. xi. 33. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 99 

section of this great instrument was won by a step 
of mighty faith. Every stage of the covenant was 
marked by a special seal from God. First, there 
was the covenant made by fire, when between the 
pieces of the bleeding sacrifice, Christ in the symbol 
of fire, and Abraham, passed in sign of the given and 
accepted faith. Again, later, he is given the seal of 
circumcision ; and last, he has the oath of God given 
to him. It was the same threefold witness given to 
all believers still. "There are three that bear wit- 
ness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood." 1 It 
was by repeated steps of faith shown by correspond- 
ing steps of self-denial, that he won the repeated and 
enlarged blessings. In the offering of Isaac we see 
the last idol laid on the altar and the fulness of bles- 
sing poured out upon him. 

The pure gospel was given to Abraham, and it 
was the whole gospel also. It was a coming Christ in 
whom he believed, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to 
see my day, and he saw it and was glad." 2 So said 
Jesus of his faith. He saw in Isaac the promise of 
the coming Son of God. In his sacrifice on Mount 
Moriah he saw Calvary ; and in his restoration to 
him alive after the offering, he saw the resurrection of 
Christ. In the stars to which God pointed him, he 
saw the coming glory, and ' ' he looked for the city 
which hath the foundations, whose builder and whose 
maker is God." 8 Abraham's faith is the standard 
faith. All other faith must be measured by his. It 
was faith in a simple promise of grace. There was 
no law nor any threat. "Abraham believed God 
and it was imputed unto him for righteousness " is 
four times recorded in the Scripture. Paul declares 
it was the pure gospel given four hundred years be- 
fore the law. James refers to Abraham's faith as 
living, because it endured the divine test. Abraham 
was the church in embryo. His life in the promised 

1 1 John v. 8. "John viii. 56. 8 Hcb. xi. 10. 



IOO CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

land is a type of the believer's life on earth. He re- 
ceives the bread and wine of the sacramental feast 
at the hands of Melchizedek, who is a type of Christ 
in his priesthood. 

In Abraham Christ found a friend. He had had 
since Eden few of human kind. Abraham was one 
with whom he could walk and talk. So he calls him 
"Friend." Among the people of that land to-day 
Abraham is called "the Friend of God." There 
existed on both sides the basis of true friendship — 
faith. Abraham had faith in God, and God said of 
Abraham, " I know him." Christ treats Abraham as 
a confidential friend. ' ' Shall I hide from Abraham 
what I do?" and so he tells him all. The great 
separation between Christ and man was partly healed 
in this established friendship. Heretofore the ap- 
pearances of Christ to man were few, now they are 
to be numerous. The chasm was closed from the 
Christ side. There is always reestablished commu- 
nication between heaven and earth when Christ 
can find a man who will fully trust and obey him. 
Abraham towers up in simple faith above all who 
have come since. No apostasy follows the faith of 
Abraham. 

The reward of Abraham was not seen by him- 
self in his life. But we have seen it as the centuries 
roll by. No other man has so blessed the world. 
From no other one man has flowed or can flow such 
a stream of influences as from Abraham. The great 
Israelitish nation and all its vast influences for good 
are his. The Scriptures are the continuation of the 
revelation first given to him, and came to us through 
his race. And, as has been seen, the church had its 
rise in him. He is its father and human head, and 
there never can be another. From him all its bless- 
ings came as a human source. All the widening 
circles of Christian civilization which have blessed 
man are the result of the religion which rose with 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. IOI 

Abraham. Not only the blessings of the past but the 
blessings of the future are to flow in the same channel. 
Everything good which shall come to man is to come 
from the church and the revelation and the religion 
which came from this one godly man. Even eternity 
is to share in his blessing. All we call heaven is the 
result of the grace which came in response to the 
faith of Abraham. The God-head even is a partaker 
of the same, for Christ wears forever the form of a 
son of Abraham. 

The appearance of Christ to, and dealings with, 
Isaac and Jacob are merely continuations of those 
with their father Abraham. There is nothing in 
either of special grace or faith. Isaac is a silent and 
passive character. Jacob is the subject of pure grace. 
All who had been favored so far had some merit or 
some reason for favor. Adam had but one trial, and 
was the first exposed to the assault of Satan without 
experience. Cain had no law. Abel was righteous. 
Enoch walked with God. Noah was righteous in an 
ungodly world. Abraham had faith, and Isaac, sweet 
submission. But Jacob had none of all this. He 
did not have the common manliness of Esau. He 
showed unbrotherly selfishness. He cheats his brother 
and deceives his father and robs his uncle. He is 
wanting in all right instincts and virtues. He is 
withal a craven coward, and tries to bribe his way 
to safety. He forgets God and vows and favors 
innumerable. But Jacob is blessed as few have been. 
He is protected from the justly-deserved conse- 
quences of his own sin. He is blessed in property 
and family. He is given a name from heaven. He 
is given visions of God as have never since been 
surpassed. He is permitted to confer blessings on 
his descendants and to give his name to the coming 
people ; and last and most wonderful, he is called a 
prince of God, and is made a type of the coming 
Messiah, and God declares, "Jacob have I loved," 



102 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

He deserves none of all this. It is not just nor justice. 
It is more. It is grace. 

Now begins that stream of free, unmerited favor 
which has flowed ever since, and has blessed the 
church and the world, and of which each of us has 
partaken. He is blessed for the father's sake. Jacob 
lived under the covenant made with Abraham. Un- 
der that covenant Christ now deals henceforth with 
all who come under its provisions by faith in him. 
To the sinner it is as it was to Jacob, free, sovereign, 
unmerited favor. The basis of all is the covenant 
made with Abraham. The source of that was the 
love of God in Christ. There were not wanting dis- 
plays of grace to those outside of the covenant. 
Ishmael was not included in it, but was blessed not- 
withstanding. The covenant was not exclusive. It 
did not shut out the rest of mankind from blessing as 
we shall see later. The world, aside from the bless- 
ing to flow from the people of the covenant, were also 
to be participators in the work of Christ directly and 
indirectly. But the record of Christ's work is from 
this on for two thousand years to be with the people 
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

During the next four hundred years there is little 
to record. The family are in Egypt, where they are 
sent to grow into a nation. Jehovah goes before 
them in prevenient grace, and by the strange eventful 
career of Joseph brings them into the place best 
suited by abundance of food for increase. They are 
kept separated by the operation of racial, religious, 
and social traits, as well as by the location of their 
residence and their occupation. The purpose of 
Christ was to make a homogeneous nation, to increase 
them to large proportions, and to give them the 
benefit of the learning and civilization of Egypt. At 
the close of the period of formation we find them a 
nation strong in numbers and wealth ; welded into 
one by a common and honored ancestry, a common 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. IO3 

hope, and peculiar customs, and above all, a faith 
diverse from Egypt. They further needed to have 
given them a knowledge of God, and love for him as 
their God, and desire for the land and life God in- 
tended them to enjoy. Their natural desire would 
have been to settle down in Egypt, that land of 
plenty and luxury. But that was not their rest. A 
better place Christ had prepared for them. To this 
end the dealings of Jehovah were now directed. 
They were permitted to feel the hatred and oppres- 
sion of the powers of Egypt, and this to such an ex- 
tent as to " make their lives bitter with hard service, 
in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service 
in the field, all their service, wherein they made them 
to serve with rigor." 1 The hatred of Egypt inbred by 
this was such that it was ever after ' ' the land of 
bondage " to them. The command of Pharaoh to de- 
stroy their little new-born children intensified this 
feeling, and made them long for deliverance and 
Canaan. 

Whenever Christ had a great blessing or deliver- 
ance for his people, he raised up a great human in- 
strument with which to work. Moses was the second 
great leader he chose for Israel. He was fitted for 
his work by birth, traits, and by training. The latter 
consisted of forty years each in Egypt and in Midian, 
by which he was fitted for his third forty years with 
Israel. The first gave him all the learning, states- 
manship, and military knowledge and experience of 
the foremost land on earth. The second gave him the 
spiritual training which can only be gotten by prayer, 
meditation, and fellowship with God. Christ revealed 
himself to Moses as he did to Abraham, and as he did 
and does to all, before sending him on his mission. 
Moses was Christ's first apostle " sent " to save man, 
the first of that long line of ministry by which the 
church has been blessed. He was the embodiment of 
the prophetic spirit of Christ. He differed, and 

1 Ex. i. 14. 



104 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

Christ's revelation to Moses differed from all who 
were before him in that it was for others rather than 
for himself the revelations were made. 

In the vision of the burning bush Christ revealed 
himself as the coming Jesus. The union of the hu- 
man and divine is clearly displayed. But there was 
a present Christ also revealed. Moses was to be sent 
on an unparalleled mission. He was to face the 
monarch of the mightiest empire on earth and de- 
mand single-handed the granting of an unheard-of 
request, — the release of the people who were multi- 
plying the wealth of the land. In the burning bush 
Moses was shown not only Jehovah, but also himself 
as he would be, and as any one is who is rilled with 
the Spirit of God. He is given his commission and 
the signs of the power he was to use. The rod 
changed into the dragon, and back into the rod 
again ; the hand covered with leprosy and cleansed 
again were to him signs of the power of Christ over 
Satan and sin, and seals to him of divine cooperation 
in the overthrow of the power of Satan over the peo- 
ple, and the power of Christ to cleanse them from 
the sins and contamination of Egypt. Moses well 
knew who the people were whom he had to deliver. 
He had made an attempt to arouse their patriotism 
and desire for freedom by an attack on one who was 
oppressing an Israelite, and to mediate between them, 
expecting they would recognize him as their deliverer, 
but was sadly disappointed to find they had little real 
desire for deliverance. By the time of his return, 
forty years after this attempt, they had tasted deeply 
the bondage of Egypt, and were ready for the de- 
liverer. 

The first step was to win their confidence as a 
God-sent man, which he did by repeating the signs. 
The next step was to reveal to them Jehovah. There 
seems to have been little development of religion in 
Egypt. The patriarchal religion was simple in doc- 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. IO5 

trines, forms, and life. They knew of God and his 
dealings with Abraham, and promises to him. They 
knew of his strange coming out of Chaldea, and of 
the covenant of the land of Canaan to him and them. 
All this remained with them and cheered them in 
their stay and latter hard life in Egypt. They kept 
also the sacrifices and the patriarchal forms of the 
eldership in their tribes ; but apart from this there 
was little knowledge of God. They knew him in a 
distant way as the one true God. They must now 
be made to know him as their own God. Hence the 
revelations of Christ to Israel were as their own 
national God. He was Israel's Jehovah as distin- 
guished from the gods of- all other peoples. Christ 
so revealed himself to win their attachment and love 
to himself, and so that he could instruct and bless 
them, and through them bless the world. 

The message of Christ to Israel by Moses was as 
follows : "I am Jehovah : and I appeared unto Abra- 
ham, and unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Al- 
mighty ; but by my name Jehovah I was not known 
to them. And I have also established my covenant 
with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the 
land of their sojournings, wherein they sojourned. 
And moreover I have heard the groaning of the 
children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in 
bondage ; and I have remembered my covenant. 
Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am 
Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the 
burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of 
their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched 
out arm, and with great judgments ; and I will take 
you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God ; 
and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, 
which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the 
Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, con- 
cerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to Abra- 
ham, to Isaac, and to Jacob ; and I will give it you 



106 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

for an heritage: I am Jehovah." 1 It will be seen 
how this was calculated to draw the hearts of the 
people to their Jehovah. 

The next step was to show the superiority of their 
Jehovah to all the gods of Egypt. This was effected 
not only by the signs given before Pharaoh but by all 
the plagues of Egypt which were expressly declared 
to be directed ' ' against all the gods of Egypt. " The 
plagues were a contest between the Jehovah of Israel 
and the gods of Egypt. This is clearly seen by the 
fact that after each of the opening plagues, it is re- 
corded that the magicians " did in like manner with 
their enchantments." Each plague was directed 
also against one of the divinities of the land or 
their worship. The first was against the Nile which 
they worshiped. It was polluted by turning its 
waters into blood, and in the second emitting 
swarms of frogs. The priests were rendered unfit 
for worship by being defiled by the lice in the 
third plague. The fly god was shown to be helpless 
to protect from the plague of flies. The sacred bull 
was dethroned by the plague on the cattle. The 
ashes scattered were a parody on a sacred custom in 
the worship of Typhon. Isis and Osiris, the gods of 
sun and moon, were defeated by the darkness. The 
plague of locusts was a direct defeat of Serapis, the 
god who was to protect from that infliction. 

It does not detract from the supernatural character 
of the plagues of Egypt that each of them had a 
natural basis. There were evils of a natural kind 
which existed, such as the emission of frogs from the 
Nile, the locusts, and the darkness which sometimes 
comes in that land from the dreaded sand-storms. 
The divinity of all was in the directing of these natural 
evils to do the will of Christ at the place and at the 
time he commanded. In the plagues of Egypt we 
see Christ in a new character. The previous acts of 
1 Ex. vi. 3-8 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 107 

judgment on his part wero, after the fall, against guilty 
man. In the plagues we see Christ stretch his hand 
against the powers of Satan. The whole story is a 
forecast of the Day of Judgment, and the song of 
Moses is the song by the victorious church in that day. 

The passover was the Old Testament sacrament. 
It meant all to them that the Lord's supper does to 
us. The bread and the wine were both there. It 
was another forfeit given and accepted for the fulfil- 
ment by Christ at a later day in his own person, by 
his own flesh and blood. Jehovah meant thereby 
not only that he was their deliverer, that they now 
knew, but that the very strength of body by which 
they marched out came from him. It was the lesson 
we learn in these words : ' ' He that eateth my flesh 
and drinketh my blood hath eternal life ; and I will 
raise him up at the last day." 1 By this formal de- 
liverance Jehovah won the gratitude of Israel. He 
was to them and is to-day the God who brought them 
' ' out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of 
bondage." 

It is recorded directly of Jehovah that it was thus 
he dealt with Israel : ' ' He compassed him about, he 
cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. 
As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, that fluttereth 
over her young, he spread abroad his wings, he took 
thee, he bare them on his pinions." 2 The reference 
is primarily to the pillar of cloud which covered the 
camp as a canopy, shielding them as with sheltering 
wings from the burning sun by day, and illuminating 
the camp by night. The loving care of Jehovah is seen 
in the daily supplies of manna and the flowing stream 
of which they drank. They had given them a year of 
absolute rest after the long hard bondage of Egypt. 
There was little work and no toil in the life in the 
wilderness. Their every want was foreseen and met. 
They learned here the goodness of their Jehovah. 
x Johnvi. 54. 8 Deut. xxxii. 10, 11. 



I08 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

There were times of trial when at the edge of want 
they were called to trust, and here they learned the 
great lesson of faith. 

Sanctification was the next process with Israel. 
This was begun by giving them a sense of reverence 
for Jehovah. The thunders of Sinai left them pros- 
trate and trembling at the mountain's base, and filled 
with a deep sense of God's holiness. The giving of 
the law and the requirements of personal cleanliness 
in food and clothing, in person and house, and in 
every act down to the smallest doings of every-day 
life, taught them the necessity of holiness in the serv- 
ice of such a God. In the law they saw the holiness 
of God manifested. In the sacredness of the taber- 
nacle and its holy rites they read the need of 
reverence in approaching their Jehovah. In every 
ceremony, in all the washings and cleansings after any 
defilement, they saw what Jehovah expected of them. 
The nature and need and practice of holiness was the 
great lesson of the wilderness. Their frequent and 
certain chastisements enforced the lessons of sanctity, 
and the blessings of obedience incited them to purity 
of life. The whole Levitical law may be summed up 
in three alliterative words, which are an outline of the 
book itself — Sacrifice, Separation, and Satisfaction. 
First, the sacrifices, then the acts and ceremonies of 
cleansing, and then the feasts. The whole first year 
was a school of religion. 

The purpose and the history of the forty years is 
given in the words of Moses: "Thou shalt remem- 
ber all the way which the Lord thy God hath led 
thee these forty years in the wilderness, that he 
might humble thee, to prove thee, to know what 
was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his 
commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and 
suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, 
which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know : 
that he might make thee to know that man doth not 






CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. IO9 

live by bread alone, but by every word which pro- 
ceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord thy God doth 
man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, 
neither did thy foot swell these forty years. And 
thou shalt consider in thy heart, that, as a man chast- 
eneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee." 1 

They were to consider themselves as a specially 
holy people, and to hold aloof from all others, and to 
have no intimate connections with them. Their land 
was chosen for this. It was separated from all about 
them by deserts and mountains and the sea. Christ 
strove to shut Israel up to himself. This is the only 
state for sanctification still. The form of the separa- 
tion has changed, but the essential condition remains. 

Moses was a reflection of Christ. We can see in 
him the work and nature of his Master. He was a 
type of Christ in his prophetic office. He was the 
great teacher and wonder-worker. He was the 
guardian of the family, the shepherd of the flock. 
We see an exhibition of the heart of Jehovah in the 
attitude of Moses when Israel committed deadly sin, 
"Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have 
made them gods of gold. Yet now if thou wilt for- 
give their sin — and if not, blot me I pray thee out of 
thy book which thou hast written." 2 This is the 
same spirit which showed itself afterward when Christ 
cried, ' ' Father forgive them, they know not what 
they do." In this Moses shows the spirit of Christ as 
the substitute for sin. This attitude is further seen 
in the exclusion of Moses from the promised land. 
Personally it was wholly undeserved by Moses. God 
charges him with unbelief, yet nowhere does he show 
this. He acted at Meribah exactly as he did on other 
similar occasions. He himself afterward declares, 
' ' The Lord was angry with me for your sakes, say- 
ing, Thou shalt not go in thither." 3 It was as the 
representative of Israel he was held accountable for 

•Deut. viii. 2, 3. 8 Ex.xxxii. 31, 32. 3 Deut. i. 37 ; iii. 26. 



I 1 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

the unbelief and rebellion of Israel and punished in 
their place, and fell as they did, and was buried as 
they were outside the promised land. As the giver 
of the law, he was held to it, as Christ by his being 
born under the law became liable to it and its curse. 

We are to look at the cost of all this to Christ. 
He had taken upon him the burden of their guilt 
as well as their care. Every one of the innumerable 
sacrifices meant another pledge given by Christ for 
future redemption. He was to be called to make 
good each pledge and answer for each guilty sinner 
in himself and by the offering of himself as their sub- 
stitute. Not only as a nation in a general way, but 
individually the whole vast accumulation of sin was 
laid at his door. The sacrifice meant immediate for- 
giveness for the sinner, but it was by Christ's assum- 
ing their obligations in the offering so made and 
accepted, to be by him made good in his person. 

The history of Israel is one constant record of 
apostasies. Unbelief and stiffneckedness were their 
besetting sins. They lost the promised land at its 
very door, and were sent back to perish in the wil- 
derness where they wandered and wasted away. 
Ten times they sinned so in the forty years of the 
wilderness. More than once they were at the brink 
of destruction. When the promised land was reached 
at the end of the years of wandering, but two of the 
multitude who left Egypt remained. Here, again, is 
a new feature of the character and work of Christ. 
Jehovah punished his people even to the loss of Ca- 
naan and life itself. He was as faithful in dealing 
with the sins of his own as he was fierce against the 
malice of Satan. They were taught the evil of sin 
by sad experience. One by one they learned the 
ways of God. 

Jehovah's purpose for Israel is seen in their en- 
trance into Canaan. The one who led them in and 
gave them the land, was he whose name Christ after- 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. Ill 

ward chose in his earthly life, for Jesus is the Greek 
for Joshua. Here then is one who will reveal the 
character both of Jehovah and Jesus. Joshua repre- 
sents Christ in sharing the lot of Israel in the wilder- 
ness during the forty years. He with Caleb had not 
turned away from the promised land at Kadish as did 
all the others, yet he shared the penalty with them. 
Joshua differs from Moses in being a soldier, and his 
work was leading the victorious hosts of Israel in war. 
The manifestation of Jehovah in Joshua as well as to 
him was as captain. He appeared thus to him ; 
•'And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, 
that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, 
there stood a man over against him with his sword 
drawn in his hand ; and Joshua went unto him and 
said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries ? 
And he said, Nay, but as captain of the host of the 
Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face 
and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my 
Lord unto his servant ? x 

What Moses was not permitted to do, Joshua did. 
Moses is the law. The law cannot bring the soul 
into rest. It can bring it out of Egypt, and that is a 
great work and place, but it is not the full and per- 
fect work of Christ, as the wilderness was not the 
perfect work of Jehovah. Israel is seen in three 
states, in Egypt, in the Wilderness, and in the Prom- 
ised Land. The whole story, aside from its histor- 
ical truth and meanings, is also an allegory, and the 
apostle tells us is written for our instruction. Here 
are three states of spiritual experience. We see the 
soul under sin, under law, and under grace. Every 
soul on earth is in one or other of these states. We 
learn the bitterness of sin by feeling its bondage. We 
realize the nature of holiness by hearing the terrors of 
the law and feeling the pangs of conscience. We are 
led into a state of rest by entering with full faith and 
consecration into Christ. 

1 Josh. Iv. 13, 14. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 



One of the most difficult parts of the Bible to un- 
derstand is that which tells of the destruction of the 
Canaanites. They were exterminated, and by com- 
mand of Jehovah. The slaughter was practically uni- 
versal. This seems to present Jehovah in an awful 
light. It does. It was an awful dispensation of 
divine wrath. Here is Jehovah, and therefore Jesus, 
and God, in another of the acts of judicial wrath seen 
before in the flood ; only that was world-wide, and 
this was local ; that was by water, and this was by 
sword. There is no defense of this or of any such 
doings in the Bible. God gives no accounting of his 
acts to man. His own people will trust him in this, 
and believe all will one day be made clear ; and those 
who turn away from him in impenitence would not be 
changed by any explanation. Christ stands here in 
the light of an apparently almost censurable act, and 
takes the responsibility. It is hard to bear the 
censure of creatures who are living in rebellion against 
him and in fellowship with the enemy of God and 
man ; but he does so silently until the end shall 
come. The question of life and death God holds in 
his own power. He gives life and takes it away. 
Neither for the taking away nor the manner of it, 
does he hold himself amenable to man. Millions die 
each year by disease and accident, sword, and awful 
calamities. The whole is one great question of the 
reason of suffering and evil, and we are not given all 
the facts in the case with which to judge. No system 
of philosophy satisfactorily accounts for it. 

A close study of the account and subsequent con- 
ditions and events shows there was reason for the 
destruction of the Canaanites, and that mercy and 
grace were not wanting. Sodom was the typical city 
of the land. It was, as its name still testifies, the 
scene of unmentionable crimes. Licentiousness was 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. II3 

the religion of Canaan, and to a more or less extent 
of the surrounding countries. Their religious gather- 
ings were orgies of unspeakable vice. Chastity was 
unknown. The apostle describes thus the state in which 
those who fall under such inflictions of divine wrath 
are in. He doubtless has in mind these very people 
or such as they were. "They exchanged the truth 
of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature 
rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. 
Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile 
passions: for their women changed the natural use 
into that which is against nature : and likewise also 
the men, leaving the natural use of the women, 
burned in their lust one toward another, men with 
men working unseemliness, and receiving in them- 
selves that recompense of their error which was due. 1 
The whole land and population were physically cor- 
rupt. Venereal disease was in the blood of all. 
The whole population was physically and morally rot- 
ten beyond any hope of restoration. It was the 
plague-spot of earth. No traveler was safe from their 
attacks for the gratification of their beastly desires. 
This is seen in the attack on the house of Lot where 
the angels were, whom they would have violated if 
they could. It is a picture of their daily state and 
life. The safety of mankind demanded their exter- 
mination, root and branch. It was either that or let 
the earth come to the same state. God still destroys 
such, but by the slower operation of natural results of 
vice. Millions so perish yearly. 

Nor was mercy wanting to that people. Jehovah 
had made every effort to save them. Abraham was 
sent pilgriming through the land, showing the exam- 
ple of a godly life. After him came also Isaac and 
Jacob, each by their lives so far above that of the 
people about them, reproving their sins. Righteous 
Lot lived in their very midst, and was vexed by their 
unholy deeds, and no doubt showed his vexation. 

8 ' Rom. i. 25-27. 



114 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

But more than all these there lived among them the 
greatest being who ever rilled the office of the priest- 
hood, Melchizedek was their princely priest. Surely 
with such ministry they had no reason to complain of 
want of efforts for their salvation. In sending Abra- 
ham's children down into Egypt, one reason given by 
God to him was that " the iniquity of the Amorites is 
not yet full." They were given that four hundred 
years to repent. They heard all the story of the 
plagues of Egypt and the deliverance of Israel, and 
that they were on the way to their land, yet there is 
no sign of repentance. In the year of Israel's jour- 
ney to Canaan they might have sued for mercy, but 
we hear of the contrary. 

Forty years are given them to repent while Israel 
wanders in the wilderness. Probably like Pharaoh 
they hardened their hearts because of the respite. 
They well knew the fate which threatened them. At 
the very border of the land Israel waits three days, 
but there is no suing for mercy, or sign of repentance. 
Jericho is compassed seven days, and every day is a 
day of mercy. Rahab and her house are saved, and 
thereby is proven the possibility of salvation for all. 
Those who come asking mercy are saved. The saved 
Gibeonites were God's witnesses to his mercy. In 
all the record of the war this is the only case of any- 
thing like a desire for mercy or friendship with the 
people of God. Their fate came in spite of all a 
merciful God could do to save them. Mercy rejected 
is judgment invited. 



The national life of Israel lasted fifteen hundred 
years. It may be divided roughly into three periods 
of equal length, — the Commonwealth, the Kingdom, 
and the Captivity ; for after the return from Babylon 
they were free from foreign interference but for 
brief intervals. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 1 1 5 

The state of Israel under the commonwealth in 
Canaan reflects the character of Jehovah in his love 
and purposes for that people and all mankind. It 
was an ideal condition. The land was all that could 
be wished. It was situated between the extremes of 
heat and cold. It was a land of plenty, ' « flowing 
with milk and honey." The government was the 
least oppressive possible. The individual had the 
greatest liberty consistent with the common interest. 
It was the ideal social state. There was the maxi- 
mum of rest and enjoyment with the minimum of labor. 
Three feasts in the year gave them recreation as well 
as rest and worship, for the feasts were such. 

Every seventh year was one of absolute rest, and 
every fiftieth year there were two years of rest in suc- 
cession. In the seventh year all debts were canceled, 
and in the fiftieth year every bondman went out free, 
and every homestead was restored to its owner. Thus 
every one was given a fair chance once in his lifetime, 
no matter how unfortunate he had been. This sys- 
tem prevented the accumulation of vast fortunes ; 
where debts were canceled and lands restored, monop- 
olies were impossible. There was no excessive wealth 
and no poverty. There was the ideal life of the 
country with the advantages of the town ; for the 
country was so fertile that it supported a dense popu- 
lation, and towns were close together. Indeed the 
most lived in town and went out to their daily labor. 
This was a sample Christ gave the world of what he 
could do and would do for mankind if they would 
obey him. Israel was a great object lesson of tempo- 
ral prosperity flowing from godliness. All this reflects 
the heart of Jehovah. It was man back again in 
Eden, as nearly as Eden was possible with fallen hu- 
man nature. 

It was under such conditions Israel grew into a 
nation geographically. It was not uninterrupted ad- 
vance ; for there were six apostasies, from each of 



I 1 6 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

which they were reclaimed by the chastisement of a 
foreign invasion and oppression. Their Jehovah was 
fai jifm to their best interests. They were by these 
made to abhor the heathen nations about them, the 
worship of whose gods was the cause of each apostasy. 
Israel was being taught to hate idolatry and to cleave 
to the one true God. They did not during this time 
advance much beyond their original borders, but grew, 
and gradually filled the land. 

The Kingdom was the divinely intended state for 
Israel. The enlarged nation needed the strength and 
orderly administration of the more powerful form of 
government. The world purposes of Jehovah re- 
quired this also. All so far was preparatory as to 
this. The great principle of service had as yet been 
but little displayed in the history of Israel. They 
had lived for themselves. Now they were ready 
to begin the fulfilment of the divine promise to 
Abraham — "In thee shall all the families of the 
earth be blessed." The preparation for this is seen 
in the development of a people physically and mor- 
ally pure, and having the true faith. Their location 
was all that was desired for such a purpose. They 
were at the center of the earth. It was needed that 
they should expand to the borders promised Abraham, 
' f from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the 
river Euphrates." 1 This would give them eastern as 
well as western seaports, and enable them to control 
the highways of the world. All this required a leader 
and armies — in short, a kingdom. Their demand for 
a king was only wrong in being premature, in the 
motive for it, and the kind of king they wanted. It 
was Jehovah's purpose from the beginning to form 
them into a kingdom. But they, as the whole world 
also, must learn the value of God's King by sad ex- 
periences with their own kings. 

Under David and Solomon, who must be regarded 
as a continuation of the Davidic reign and principles, 
1 Ge». xv. 18. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 117 

the nation was greatly enlarged, and made a military 
power of great wealth. To some extent they began 
the world mission of disseminating the true faith. 
The surrounding nations learned of the one true God. 
The visit of the Queen of Sheba was an instance of 
many such visits of lesser note. It is no wild declara- 
tion to say that the continuation of the Davidic reign, 
or equally strong and godly reigns, would have in a 
few centuries extended the influence of the true faith 
all over the world. But he who said, ' ' My kingdom 
is not of this world, else would my servants fight," did 
not intend by the sword to evangelize the world. 
Israel was a preparation of the world for Christ, in a 
better way. But there was a temporary purpose 
served in the world's evangelization by Israel in this 
time, as we will see later. Aside from the errors of 
Israel, the state under the Davidic kingdom was all 
that it was under the Commonwealth with the added 
splendor and power nationally, and a vast increase of 
individual wealth. ' ' And the king made silver to be 
in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as 
the sycamore trees that are in the lowlands for abun- 
dance. " * The reign of Christ on earth has ever been 
so, wherever it has, even for a short time and a limited 
area, been permitted. 

With David, Christ makes a new covenant. It 
is the covenant of kingship. Hitherto Christ had 
not so revealed himself. He was Prophet and Priest, 
now he declares himself King. The chief clause of 
the covenant is as follows : ' ' Thine house and thy 
kingdom shall be made sure for ever before thee ; thy 
throne shall be established for ever." 2 This has so 
far not been fulfilled as to the throne and kingdom of 
Israel and David. There is a spiritual fulfilment in 
Christ, but the covenant with David, as the covenant 
with Abraham, awaits its fulfilment. It occupies a large 
place in the prophecies of both Old and New Testa- 
ments. Israel is the people of David, Jerusalem the 
1 1 Kimgi x. 37. 8 2 Sam.vii. 16. 



Il8 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

city of David. The kingdom which is to come is the 
kingdom of the Son of David. It is the Son of David 
who is to rule forever and ever. Here, then, is the 
full type of Christ as King. All relating to Christ as 
king must be studied from the standpoint of the 
throne of David, or a correct conception cannot be had. 

Here is the identification of the throne of Christ 
and David and its nature : *' Unto us a child is born, 
unto us a son is given : and the government shall be 
upon his shoulder : and his name shall be called 
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting 
Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his 
government there shall be no end, upon the throne of 
David and his kingdom to establish it, and to uphold 
it with judgment and with righteousness from hence- 
forth and forever." 1 This covenant is henceforth the 
hope of Israel as a nation. All the prophecies speak of 
it and point forward to it. It is a new starting point 
for the nation. The throne of David is the mountain 
peak of the coming glory for Israel. It is the hope 
after Jesus came, and is referred to by the apostles as 
'•the hope of Israel," "the sure mercies of David." 
It is identical with ' ' the kingdom. " Israel, the church, 
and the world, alike look to the establishing of the 
throne of David as their hope. 

David gave Israel spiritual truth as Abraham and 
Moses gave them respectively physical and social 
being. Through David, Christ manifested himself 
spiritually. David saw few if any visions, nor did he 
work miracles or have any wrought for him. His fel- 
lowship with Christ was different in this respect from 
those who had gone before. Christ spoke in him 
rather than to him. This is a great advance of the 
work of Christ with man. David lived the life of 
Christ from cradle to throne. He is the great Mes- 
sianic character of Scripture. He had the same an- 
cestry, was born in the same place, and came to his 
place by the same course of obscurity and adversity. 

1 Isa. ix. 6, 7. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 119 

He was betrayed by his own, was received by few at 
first, then by more, and at last by all Israel ; and in 
Solomon attained to a measure of world-wide su- 
premacy. He was inspired to speak for Christ. In 
no other way can we explain the Messianic psalms. 
He uses words and figures which in no way were true 
of himself. "They pierced my hands and my side" 
was not literally true of David, and was of Jesus. 
Hence it was he who spoke. We see in him the spirit 
of Christ. 

No Old Testament writer attains to the spiritual 
conceptions of David. The Psalms read more like 
New Testament writings than those of the Old. They 
not ojily describe the experiences of David and Christ 
but 01 the believer. We go to them instinctively for 
help. We travel a well-known path when we read 
them. We feel we are following one who has been 
over the same experiences as ourselves. We read in 
them not only the experiences and feelings of David 
but of Christ. Only so can the Psalms be understood. 
David's grief and David's ecstacies were those of 
Christ. So was the love for the Scriptures and for 
the people of God which David shows. Christ is best 
revealed in the Psalms. They are the climax of the 
spiritual revelation of Jehovah. Hence we see the 
reason of the love of Jesus for them. 

There are among the Psalms some whose spirit 
seems far from that of Jesus. These are usually 
termed the "Imprecatory Psalms," such as the sev- 
enth, thirty-fifth, sixty-ninth, and one hundred and 
ninth. Yet it is noticeable that some of them, the 
sixty-ninth especially, are Messianic. From the 
latter are taken the quotations applied to Christ : 
"The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;" 
"They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my 
thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." In those 
psalms, then, we are also to see Christ speaking. The 
persons against whom these imprecations are launched 



120 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

are indicated by Peter's quotation of them as applying 
to Judas Iscariot, whom Christ said was a devil. 
These psalms, then, refer to those like Judas, who by 
surrender to Satan, become part of that_ awfully 
sinful and accursed combination whose head is Satan, 
and who with all his host is doomed to suffer the out- 
pouring of the wrath of God. There is such an awful 
guilt in sin, especially in its fountainhead, which we 
cannot understand, but which Christ did fully see 
and feel in all its venom. This, as represented in 
persons wilfully given up to it in face of light and 
warning, is the object against which is launched the 
maledictions of these psalms. 

The history of Israel in its entirety may be repre- 
sented by an ascending line to David and Solomon, 
and a descending line from that down to their final 
overthrow as a nation. Their climax was reached in 
the Davidic kingdom. They existed for a thousand 
years longer, and enjoyed much blessing every way, 
but in all fell short increasingly every way from that 
on. After this we see the beginnings of disaster. _ For 
the first time we see the people of God divided. 
Idolatry comes in. Apostasies come one after another, 
led by their kings. Irreligion increases with luxury^ 
Amos describes their "summer and winter houses," 
"houses of ivory," "great houses," "houses of 
hewn stone." Here is a picture of their state: 
"Ye that put away the evil day and cause the seat of 
violence to come near : that lie upon beds of ivory, and 
stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the 
lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst 
of the stall ; that sing idle songs to the sound of the 
viol ; that devise for themselves instruments of music, 
like David ; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint 
themselves with the chief ointments, but they are 
not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." 1 Religion 
was turned into a means of gain and luxury. Their 
religious times and ceremonies become abhorrent to 

1 Amos vi • 4-7. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 1 21 

their Jehovah, and they themselves sink lower in im- 
piety. Jehovah follows them in a double line of deal- 
ing, — afflictions and prophetic warnings. Defeats 
in war, and foreign invasion become frequent to the 
invincible armies of the kingdom of David. Their 
holy city is entered, defiled, and robbed. Internecine 
strife weakens and disgraces them ; insect plagues 
devour their crops ; famines waste them ; earthquakes 
terrify them, and at last the end comes in overthrow. 
Israel is driven from their land and scattered over 
the earth, and their holy city burned, and their land 
left desolate. 

All this did not happen in a short time. It covered 
five hundred years. Nor did it come on them without 
warning, nor without efforts of their Jehovah to save 
them. There began with the decline of Israel the 
long line of prophets whose words occupy the last 
quarter of the Old Testament. We must not suppose 
that these books were all the messages given to the 
apostatizing nation. Israel swarmed with prophets 
during the centuries of her decline. All these 
breathed the messages of their Jehovah. Every 
prophet was a block thrown under the wheels of the 
chariot of Israel in its mad rush down the declivity 
of national apostasy. There are no more tender 
tones of love and pity than the beseeching of their 
Jehovah through the prophets to backsliding Israel. 
It is the same Christ who in Jesus wept over them on 
the Mount of Olives. In the prophets the figure of 
woman and wife is first applied to Israel, the people 
of God. Christ assumes the close relation of husband 
to his people in their decline. He represents Israel 
as an adulterous wife, and yet loves her and follows 
and entreats her return to his house. In order that 
Hosea may feel his grief, he gives him for wife an 
abandoned woman. That Ezekiel may feel some of 
Jehovah's loss, he lets his wife die. Every prophet 
carries some of Jehovah's burden. "The burden of 



122 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

the Lord " was the burden the Lord himself bore first 
before being laid on the prophet. Jeremiah's tears 
were Jehovah's. In every prophet must be read not 
only the words but the heart of his Master. They 
were. the constant attendants of Israel in all their 
vicissitudes. They went with them into captivity and 
dispersion. They hung their harp on the willows of 
the Euphrates, and returned with them to the ruins of 
their city and cheered them as they began the toil 
of rebuilding, surrounded by scoffing enemies, and 
when Jerusalem was rebuilt, instructed and guided 
them. 

Each prophecy, or more properly, message, may 
be divided into three parts, — warning, exhortation, 
and promise. The warnings are plain and definite. 
Their fate is exactly foretold. So also is the future 
of blessing after the affliction. Every sad message 
ends in a bright and hopeful outlook. The valley of 
Achor is a door of hope. Although their fate at last 
becomes inevitable and cannot be averted, even by 
repentance, and all the prophet can do is, like Jesus, 
to give his message and weep over them, yet even 
then there is hope beyond. Jehovah will not and 
does not cast down his people into the gulf of despair. 
The further shore of blessing is always discernible over 
every sea of sorrow. The dark clouds of prophetic 
doom have an edge of silver cheer. It is so Israel 
went down. Not as those who have no hope did the 
nation die. They rest in the grave of national death, 
the penalty of violated vows and law and loss of faith 
in God, but in the certainty of a national resurrection. 
Their Jehovah has not forgotten his triple covenant 
given through Abraham, Moses, and David. Israel is 
not lost, but still lives as a people, awaiting the call 
of their Jehovah to national life and activity. The 
great purpose for which they were chosen has not 
yet been fulfilled. They are to be a blessing to the 
whole earth. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 1 23 

Israel is left fixed forever in the faith of the 
one true and living God. Idolatry has been utterly 
eradicated. Whatever else they may be or become, 
Israel will never be worshipers of any but the God of 
Israel. They are bound to each other and to their 
nation by the most honorable history, and lineage the 
purest on earth. Their literature is the purest and 
oldest in the world ; their hold on life, their mental 
and physical vitality, the strongest. They compete 
successfully with every race and wrest the prizes of 
life from all. They have all the abilities for the for- 
mation of a great nation, if settled under circum- 
stances where their powers could operate in national 
autonomy toward enlargement and progress. They 
wait as a people prepared by this long course of 
training for some great purpose. Their schooling 
seems complete. They are fit for some great mis- 
sion. Jehovah's people await Jehovah's time and 
purpose. 

A recent Jewish writer has said : "If the history 
of Israel which touches all recorded time has no 
dynamic significance, supplies no hint as to the des- 
tiny of humanity, then is life indeed a walking 
shadow, and history ' a tale told by an idiot, full of 
sound and fury and signifying nothing.' It is a story 
that has chapters in every country on earth, and 
which has borne the impress of every period. All 
ages pass through in marching procession Israel's 
army. To the Jew the world owes its vision of 
God." Another has said: "Israel is among the 
nations as the heart among the limbs." Renan 
says, ' ' Jerusalem is still the house of prayer for all 
nations. " 

In considering the work of Christ in the Old Test- 
ament age, we must not forget that he had a relation- 
ship to the whole race as well as to Israel. The 
children of his first human friend were not forgotten 
in all this time. What he did for the world through 



124 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

Israel was all the time in his mind. He was not neg- 
lecting the world outside of Israel. The Bible is a 
history of Israel mainly, therefore it records little of 
God's doings outside of that nation. But there are 
glimpses of a wider sphere of divine working, and 
world-wide acts of evangelizing grace in that Old 
Testament age. The call and departure of Abraham 
was not without its effect on the land he left as well 
as on the land to which he went. Abimelech, king 
of Egypt, received a divine message. We have seen 
the exalted privilege the citizens of Canaan enjoyed 
in the ministry of Melchizedek. 

The sojourn of Israel in Egypt was a protest then 
against idolatry and a mission of the truth. The dis- 
play of power in the plagues of Egypt surely must 
have had effect on some in turning them from error. 
Israel in the wilderness was an astonishing evidence 
to the whole world of the reality, power, and good- 
ness of God. In Canaan the nation was, as we have 
seen, a witness for God as a nation of the Lord. On 
the highway of the world Israel was the observed of 
all nations. The temple and its services attracted 
seekers after truth from all the world. Israel was a 
national missionary. Solomon was the greatest 
preacher the world has ever had. His sermons were, 
and are still given a world-wide circulation. In Baby- 
lon Israel testified for God and not without effect. 
Nebuchadnezzar was converted by the power of their 
testimony and the hand of God upon him, and issued 
to the world a proclamation confessing the truth of 
the God of Israel and his acceptance of him, and 
commanding all people everywhere to worship him 
and him only, ft is inconceivable that this royal 
evangel should not have led the effort in bringing 
many to know God. 

Jonah was sent to Nineveh with a gospel message 
of repentance. There followed the greatest revival 
the world has ever seen in the same length of time. 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. I25 

In three days a city of at least a million was turned 
from its sins and brought to repentance. We have 
a right to see in this a sample of what God was con- 
stantly doing. Nineveh was no exceptional case in 
any way. We may believe that the prophets of 
Israel went everywhere, and that many a city and 
land in that time had a visitation from the messenger 
of God. In fact we may safely conclude that in one 
way or another Israel did in a measure fulfil her mis- 
sion and become in some degree a blessing to all the 
families of the earth. 

In reviewing the history of Christ's dealings with 
the ages of the Old Testament, we discover that some 
things were thereby settled, some facts demonstrated. 
We have seen that man proved a failure under license. 
So far from their becoming ' ' as gods " as Satan prom- 
ised, they became as devils, and brought upon them- 
selves swift destruction. It was further shown by 
actual demonstration that man was also a failure un- 
der law. This is the testimony of the history of 
Israel. The whole religious system of Moses was as 
perfect as divine wisdom could produce with any hope 
of its success. It was a race specially chosen and 
prepared. The law fitted close to every act of life. 
" Thou shalt " and "Thou shalt not" hedged in the 
Israelite on every side. He was commanded what to 
eat and wear, and how to cook and speak and wash, 
and down to the minutest and most private acts. 

All his worship was prescribed, what was wrong 
was specifically named, so he could not fail to know 
right and wrong. For every sin there was a sacrifice ; 
for every act of ceremonial uncleanness, there was 
a ceremony of purification. There were countless 
priests and Levites to instruct him in carrying it out. 
The service of the tabernacle and temple was most 
perfect in ceremony and significance. The adorn- 
ments were all that precious materials and skill 
could produce. The feasts were continuous, weekly, 



126 CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 

monthly, and three times a year, and the great 
seven- and fifty-year feasts added. Yet all failed to 
make or keep Israel holy. It failed because of the 
weakness of human nature. It was scarcely inaugu- 
rated until, as Paul says, and even the Talmud shows, 
it began to " vanish away," and little by little its pro- 
visions were dropped, and those which were retained 
became mere forms, covering lives and natures still 
unchanged. It has been demonstrated that heredity, 
environment, and development cannot save man, be- 
cause they do not touch the heart. The law was 
therefore swept away, and the apostles forbade and 
condemned it as a means of salvation or Christian 
living. 

In view of all this, the inquiry arises, Why did 
Christ give the law ? It was and is the greatest bless- 
ing this world ever had next to Christ. It has made 
the world endurable. But for this it would long ago 
have sunk into total corruption. It has given to 
man the best system of ethics the world has ever had. 
The world's jurisprudence is founded on the national 
code of Israel. Man could not have lived without 
law, as was seen in the case of the old world and 
Sodom and the Canaanites. The law was Israel's 
criminal and civil code. Further, the law was educa- 
tional. It was Israel's text-book. It was their litera- 
ture, probably all they had. It was above all a 
revelation to them of the holiness of God. It lifted 
their idea of holiness and the character of God in 
Israel and throughout the world to this day. The 
sacrifices were a stay of proceedings of judgment 
against guilty man. It has been shown that every 
sin deserves swift punishment. God has so declared. 
Christ interfered by his first sacrifice in Eden in behalf 
of man, and has interfered in behalf of every sinner 
who comes to him. The sacrifices of the law were the 
Old Testament way of coming to Christ. Still further, 
the law was the path which Christ himself was to 



CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AGE. 1 27 

walk. All was demanded of him. He was called 
upon to fulfil all righteousness. Every sacrifice was a 
forfeit he was called upon to redeem. He fulfilled the 
law in all its righteousness for himself, and for those 
whose guilt he assumed, paid the penalty with his life. 

For Israel Paul wrote : ' ' The law hath been our tu- 
tor to bring us unto Christ. " * Regarding the church 
then and now as one, it kept us in control and to- 
gether until Christ came, to whom it turned us over, 
its work being ended. It serves a spiritual purpose as 
showing the legal state into which some come by not 
understanding Christ or coming fully to him. It 
convicts of sin, and shows the soul its need of Christ. 

Concurrent with all this, millions of the people of 
God have been individually schooled for eternity. 
The precious grain has been gathered into the garner. 
Another stage of the great demonstration has been 
conducted. It has been shown what man is and will 
be under law, as it was shown what he is and will be 
under license. The results are recorded for the use 
of the eternal ages. Further, and most of all, Christ 
has been more fully manifested, and in Jehovah, God 
was brought still nearer to man. We begin to see 
the features of a well-known face and to hear a well- 
known voice. 

1 Gal. iii. 24. 



CHAPTER IV. 



JESUS. 
CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

There are four gospels in the Old Testament as in 
the New, and they also tell the story of the earthly 
life of Christ. They run parallel with the history of 
Christ as Jehovah. Creation was the first gospel, its 
life of Christ has been examined. The second gospel 
was written in flesh and blood. There are certain 
specifically named persons who are appointed to rep- 
resent Christ as types. Adam was the first, repre- 
senting Christ as the head of the race. 1 Melchizedek 
was the type of the priesthood of Christ, 2 Moses with 
Joshua a type of his prophetic office, 3 David with 
Solomon types of Christ in his kingship as Son of 
David to Israel. In the wider kingship of universal 
dominion Nebuchadnezzar is the one whose title " king 
of kings " he assumes.* Ezekiel is the one from whom 
Christ takes his favorite title, "Son of Man," and 
Jonah was a type of his burial. Israel as a nation, 
as has been said, was a Messiah among the nations, 
and is as a nation a type of Christ. 5 Every one of 
the Old Testament saints had some features of the 
coming Christ. In one respect they differ from those 
of the New. The latter have each an undivided part 
of the whole Christ, "Of his fulness have we all 
received and grace for grace." This helps us to un- 
derstand the fragmentary character of the experiences 
and lives of Old Testament saints. They were in- 

1 I Cor. xv. 22, 45. 2 Heb. v. 10. 

3 Deut. xviii. 15 ; Heb. iv. 8. * Dan. ii. 37. 

8 Hosea xi. 1. 

[ I2 8] 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 29 

complete in their understanding of Christ and their 
reception of his grace. The third gospel was written 
in symbols. These are seen from the tree of life 
down through the long line of appointed types of 
things natural or artificial, all the articles and cere- 
monies of the tabernacle and the temple, and the en- 
tire ritual of worship. The fourth gospel consists of 
the written prediction beginning with the first in Eden 
down to the last as to his forerunner in Malachi. 

While Jehovah as a second person was but dimly 
known to Israel, the coming Christ was fully revealed. 
It is evident he did not wish to be known in the 
future as Jehovah but as Christ. Israel seemed to 
gradually come to understand the truth as to the com- 
ing Christ. A few at first comprehended, though in 
a limited degree. Before his coming it was generally 
understood. But it was then as now ; those who did 
not desire him did not learn much about him or look 
for him. The heart want must precede the head be- 
lief. To each longing soul the coming Messiah was 
revealed according to his needs. We must distinguish 
then as now, between Christ revealed in us, and to 
us. As types each showed the former ; as individuals 
they realized the latter according to their desires and 
effort to do so, and this was according to their cir- 
cumstances. To Abraham the coming Christ was the 
longed-for Seed ; to Jacob a deliverer ; to Moses a 
revelation of glory ; to David an heir ; and so to each 
believer however humble. Yet Christ was not fully 
foreseen even by the utterers of the prophecies. 
There were two points they failed to perceive, — the 
preexistence of the coming Messiah and his afflictions. 
They did not understand that the coming Messiah was 
to be Jehovah. Most of the predictions of Messiah 
came in their declining days, and they saw what they 
most desired, a Deliverer coming in glory. 

Israel was not the only people looking for or desir- 
ing a Coming One. The Magians from the East repre- 



130 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

sented many to whom God revealed him or in whom 
a sense of need created a desire for the Deliverer. 
The prophecies had been carried far and wide where- 
ever scattered Israel went, and were read by seekers 
after truth, such as the Ethiopian eunuch. Christ 
was in a limited measure " the desire of all nations." 
Plato said, "It is necessary that a lawgiver be sent 
from heaven to instruct us. O how greatly do I de- 
sire to see that man, and who he is ! He must be 
more than man." The Sibylline oracles predicted 
and described fairly well Christ as he was prophesied, 
evidently drawing on the prophecies for their fore- 
cast. But in all, whether in Israel or the world, the 
desire or knowledge of the coming Messiah was at 
best limited and indifferent. There was no deep, 
world-wide expectancy as might have been expected 
with such repeated and detailed predictions, well un- 
derstood too, as is seen by the conduct of the chief 
priests in telling Herod where Christ should be born. 
We would suppose that Israel at least would be 
awaiting in preparation and intense expectancy the 
advent of Christ. It was, as has been seen, a pre- 
pared people to whom Christ came. Centuries had 
been spent in their schooling for this great event. 
The land to which Christ came was Israel's. It was 
chiefly for the purposes of this advent of Christ that 
it was selected. It was on this platform of the world 
that Christ came to display the glory of divine grace. 
It was at the center of the earth he began his work. 
But there was one vast and interested circle of in- 
tense observers. We must remember that all this 
display of the work of Christ is for all worlds and ages. 
We are actors and observers, but we are not the only 
ones nor the k rgest number nor those seeing all or 
most. Angels are to be instructed as well as man — 
"Which things angels desire to look into." 1 They 
had followed their Lord in his creative and providen- 
1 1 Peter i. 12. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 131 

tial work, and had assisted in it as we are told. They 
had heard, and doubtless studied, the meaning of the 
prophecies. They knew more than man, but it is not 
probable they knew all. It was to be a revelation to 
them as to man. So when the time came to see the 
great event, we can well believe there was the most in- 
tense expectancy among the beings of the other world. 

It was, perhaps, the occasion of a great assembly. 
There are such in heaven. There was one when 
Creation was finished and "the sons of God shouted 
for joy. " There certainly was when Christ was born. 
There is reference to some such gathering, perhaps 
this, in the words heard by Isaiah : ' ' And I heard 
the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, 
and who will go for us ? " * This was the prophet's call 
to service, but each prophet walked the path of his 
Master. Here, then, was a call for some one to go 
on some great mission. We can well believe that in 
answer to a call for some one to go to earth and save 
man, there would be many responses ; but this was 
more than an errand of mere mercy. If this were all 
Christ had had before him, any angel could and would 
have done the work, even to die for man. Men have 
died for each other and for loved ones, and why 
not angels ? Surely they are neither less willing nor 
capable. But this call involved far more, as will be 
seen when we come to consider the details of the 
great descent of Christ. 

Christ had made himself personally responsible for 
the sin and state of man. As the " First-born of all 
creation," as Creator, and in the relations he has 
assumed toward the race, by the countless sacrifices 
and types, by his own express declarations, by every 
solemn act, Christ made himself the sole possible 
Saviour of man and creation and heaven. And now 
the time had come to fulfil all the vast obligation. 
The call, if such there was, could only have been to 
1 Isa. vi. 8. 



132 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

draw attention to the vastness and urgency of the task 
for the instruction of all. The fate of the whole race 
depended on the step Christ was now called on to take. 
The salvation of all believers past was not complete 
until sin was atoned for, and Satan conquered and 
salvation secured. If there was any objection to the 
redemptive work of Christ, that was the time to de- 
clare it. True, there were no human beings present. 
But if there were any reasonable or unreasonable ob- 
jection or arguments of any force to present, Satan 
was competent to present them. Doubtless he also 
was present, for we read in the account of such an 
assembly : • ' Now there was a day when the sons of 
God came to present themselves before the Lord, and 
Satan came also among them." 1 We come to the 
conclusion that the devil did not know of any such 
objection, and that those who object now either know 
more or less than Satan. 

To Christ this was the great step in the execution 
of the plan of the ages. The life he was now to enter 
he well knew. He had lived it in type and person 
of his people. It was written in creation and by the 
pens of holy men of God who spake as they were 
moved by the Holy Ghost. But now the life was to 
be lived in person. The reply of Christ to the call of 
the Father is given to us : " Wherefore when he 
cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering 
thou wouldest not, but a body didst thou prepare for 
me ; in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou 
hadst no pleasure : Then said I, Lo, I am come (in 
the roll of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, 
OGod." 8 

The entire humiliation of Christ is given in the 
following passage : ' ' Being in the form of God, 
counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, 
but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, 
being made in the likeness of men ; and being found 
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming 
*Job. i. 6. B Heb. x. 5-7. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 33 

obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross." 1 
This shows the parts in the humiliation of Christ, — 
what he relinquished, what he became, and what he 
did. This describes his state before he began his 
great descent. He had the form of God. He had 
equality with God. This he might have retained. 
But he counted it not a thing to be grasped and held. 
Christ's humiliation began in heaven. The first part 
of Christ's humiliation, that which was seen by heaven 
alone, is described in these words : " He emptied him- 
self, taking the form of a servant. " He first ' ' emptied 
himself. " The verb rendered ' ' emptied " occurs in 
four other places, and is rendered ' ' made void. " 2 

That of which he ' ' emptied himself, " is stated in 
the previous sentence, — " Being in the form of God," 
"on an equality with God." Of these, then, he 
emptied himself. He laid aside the form of God, he 
relinquished equality with God. He rises like a mon- 
arch, relinquishing royal power and office for a time, 
lays aside his crown and robes, and descends from the 
throne. 

We have noted his eternal place ' ' in the bosom 
of the Father," with its nearness, fellowship, and 
honor. We must not suppose that because Christ 
was an infinite being, it was not a sacrifice to relin- 
quish this. He afterward looked back to the,glory 
he then relinquished in these words, "O Father: 
glorify me with thine own self with the glory which I 
had with thee before the world was." 3 It was dearer 
to Christ than all else save to do the will of God 
and save man. "He emptied himself of his divine 
glory, and laid his divine attributes, omnipotence, 
omniscience, omnipresence, under temporary voluntary 
limitations." 4 He laid aside his administrative power 
over the affairs of earth and heaven. None of this he 

1 Phil. ii. 6-8. 

8 Rom. iv. 14 ; 1 Cor. i. 17 ; ix. 15 ; 2 Cor. ix. 3. 
s John xvii. 5. 

*L>r. A. T. Pierson, "Many Infallible Proofs," p. 286; Chicago, 
1801. 



134 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

claimed during his earthly life. Nor did he resume it 
until he said, "All authority hath been given unto me 
in heaven and on earth." 1 

He also laid aside his creative power. None of his 
miracles were creative. The healings were remedial 
only. The miracle of the loaves was increase of ex- 
isting food and not creation. Jesus limited himself 
in his knowledge. He said, ' ' Of that day and hour 
knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither 
the Son, but the Father only." 2 There is no gain, but 
on the other hand great loss in making this step of 
self-emptying in Christ less than it was. By so doing 
we minimize the humiliation of Christ and so rob him 
of his glory and ourselves of the comfort in know- 
ing how he was made like unto us. This mistaken 
interpretation comes from a timid fear lest Christ be 
made less in his divinity, and this comes from resting 
the argument for his divinity and nature on this one 
chapter of his life. Christ's humanity is seen in his 
humiliation, his divinity in his exaltation. 

The second step — ' ' taking the form of a servant " — 
was also an act in the presence of the heavenly as- 
sembly. We are reminded of a corresponding act on 
earth, when laying aside his garments, he took a basin 
of water and towel and washed the disciples' feet. He 
took the form of a servant. So in the presence of 
the greater discipleship of heaven, by some act of infi- 
nite condescension, he, having laid aside his divine 
glory and power, stepped down among the lowliest 
of the serving, waiting host, and took the form of a 
servant. 

But Christ was destined to become "lower than 
the angels. " He was ' ' made in the likeness of men " 
and " found in fashion as a man." He was to enter 
human life and nature as though a man could and 
should lay aside his human form and nature and take 
upon himself the form and nature of a worm and live 

1 Matt xxviii. x8. • Matt xxiv. 36. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 35 

its life in all its conditions. This is but a feeble com- 
parison to the descent from deity to humanity, from 
heaven to fallen earth. He was to begin where every 
human being begins, and to travel the whole journey. 
Through the Psalmist he speaks of himself thus : "I 
was cast upon thee from the womb." 1 This then 
was as truly Christ as he who hung on the cross. It 
is no more strange that Christ should enter life so, 
than that he should enter life at all. We are not 
asked to understand this but to believe it on the state- 
ment of the word of God. All attempts to explain 
by abstruse terms and reasonings the time and man- 
ner of the union of the two natures of Christ are 
unsatisfying ; and unsatisfying explanations breed un- 
belief. We must leave it therefore where God has left 
it, — unexplained. 

In this beginning Christ descends to the lowest level 
of existence. We have heretofore seen that the be- 
ginnings of life are all alike. In plant, animal, in- 
sect, or man there is no discernible difference. We 
have seen that man passes up through all the lower 
forms of life ; he exists as each for a time, and passes 
on to his own state. Christ did all this. He not 
only traveled the path of human life but also the path 
of all life. He tasted the life of every living thing. 
He thus became incarnated not only for man but for 
all creation, that he might redeem everything that 
hath life. Christ embodied all heavenly intelligences 
in his spiritual nature, all mankind in his psychical 
nature, and all organic and inorganic creation in his 
physical nature. Christ therefore summed up all 
things in his redemptive work. 

A greater contrast could not be conceived of than 
the advent of Christ as celebrated by heaven and re- 
ceived on earth. It is the occasion of another great 
call for the adoration of the heavenly beings. ' ' When 
he again bringeth in the first-born into the world, he 
*P«. xxii. 10. 



I36 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." 1 
Heaven was undoubtedly absorbed in its joyful cele- 
bration. It was the beginning of the fulfilment of the 
four-fold gospel of the Scripture. All they knew of 
nature, all they had seen of the gradual revelation 
of the coming Christ in his people, in the countless 
types and ceremonies ; all they heard of the spoken 
predictions of Scripture which they so desired to look 
into, was now to be fulfilled. The first step in the 
overthrow of the enemy of Christ was now taken. 
The beginning of the end of sin had come. The 
opening of the path back to Eden was now begun. 
They had sung anthems of joy over earth's creation. 
If creation filled them with joy and praise, what must 
have been the effect on these spiritual and holy beings 
of the commencement of redemption ? It was to them 
as to us the central point from which all events were 
to be hereafter measured. To heaven as to earth it 
was to be the reckoning point of all time, and more, 
for b. c. and a. d. are to be the extensions of 
eternity. 

The world was asleep, and so was the church when 
Christ was born. Of all that city full of ecclesiastical 
dignitaries, but one was apprized of the great event. 
They might have known of its imminence. Indeed, 
they did know and directed Herod to the very place. 
But they were not watching or waiting or even 
ready. We read of no exultation on the news being 
received, nor even a tardy reception. They were 
wrapped up in acquisition of property, in formal and 
splendid liturgical worship. They were divided into 
bitter sects and were engaged in endless discussions, 
and worst of all were immersed in lives of secret or 
open sin, all the while looking for the establishment 
on earth of a state of power and glory for themselves 
by the coming kingdom. 

To a few poor shepherds was given the great 
honor of welcoming the Son of God in his advent to 
1 Heb. i. 6. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 37 

earth. They were watching over their flocks. We 
must believe they were also waiting and watching for 
the coming Messiah. Perhaps they were that very 
moment talking of the great hope of Israel, and ex- 
pressing the longing that they might be living when 
he came and be permitted to see and hear him, and 
above all to receive a share in the blessing he was to 
bring to Israel. Perhaps, like David, one of their 
own occupation long ago, they were singing their 
hopes in sacred song. The inspired account is as 
follows : ' ' And an angel of the Lord stood by them, 
and the glory of the Lord shone round about them : 
and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto 
them, Be not afraid ; for behold, I bring you good 
tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people : 
for there is born to you this day in the city of David 
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this is 
the sign unto you ; Ye shall find a babe wrapped in 
swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. And sud- 
denly there was with the angel a multitude of the 
heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God 
in the highest, and on earth peace among men in 
whom he is well pleased. And it came to pass, 
when the angels went away from them into heaven, 
the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even 
unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to 
pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 
And they came with haste, and found both Mary and 
Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. "* Jesus 
was probably born in a cave, for such were the stables 
for cattle in such humble communities. No lowlier 
place could be imagined. He entered the lowest con- 
dition of man, for even savages have better accom- 
modations. 

There could be no higher honor awarded woman 

than to be the medium of the earthly advent of the 

Son of God. By woman came sin, but by woman 

came Christ. In this was more than compensated 

1 Luke ii. 9-17. 



138 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

her share in the fall. Women were the constant 
friends of Jesus. No woman's hand was ever lifted 
to smite him ; no woman's voice was ever raised 
against him. In his hour of trial a woman only of 
all earth's multitude spoke in his defense, and on his 
way to the cross only woman's words were spoken in 
sympathy. The woman God selected of all the thou- 
sands of Israel was a chosen vessel for the high 
honor. We have no record of her life, but there are 
intimations which give us some glimpses into the his- 
tory and character of the woman so signally honored. 

In her song she speaks of her ' ' low estate. " Hers 
was a life of poverty and toil. The position of Joseph 
tells us that. She lived in a humble home, with little 
to make life vain or idle. She speaks of ' ' the proud " 
in her song: "He hath scattered the proud in the 
imagination of their heart." Here is reference to 
some personal enmity against her or the contempt 
of some such people, as well as spiritual meaning ; 
whether for her lowly position or for her piety we do 
not know, probably the latter. She was, as all are 
who share Christ's cross or crown, schooled in the 
ways of adversity. It is related of her afterward in 
connection with the strange things done and said at 
the birth of her Son, that she • ' kept all these sayings, 
pondering them in her heart." 1 Here is a glimpse 
of a reserved, meditative disposition. She is seen 
directing the servants at the marriage of Cana, and 
seems to be in charge there of the preparations for 
the feast. She has the confidence of others and the 
ability to direct, in short, a womanly strength of char- 
acter. She was probably far from the appearance of 
the madonnas of art, as was her divine Son from the 
same artistic ideals. 

Her piety is seen in connection with the great 
event of her life. She accepts the announcement in 
perfect faith and in glad submission. It was to bring 
upon her suspicion and obloquy. It proved so. Even 

*Luke ii. 19. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 39 

Joseph did not believe her, and was preparing to put 
her away. If the one she loved doubted her, what 
must have been the feelings and conduct of the 
cynical, sneering world about her ? A shameful stigma 
was attached to her name. It was an awful burden 
which Mary so joyfully accepted. On her first of all 
fell the shadow of the cross. Alone she bore the 
burden and reproach, knowing herself that she was 
true, and that God knew so also. The most pain- 
ful of all was to be suspected by the one she loved. 
A worse fate, all in all, could scarcely befall woman. 
The stigma doubtless followed both her and Jesus, 
who thus began life among the most despised. 

The manliness of Joseph, as well as his piety, is 
seen in his prompt acknowledgment of Mary as his 
wife at the divine command. He thereby took her 
reproach and bore it with her, silently accepting 
the odium as his own. Together this simple, loving 
couple stepped into the shadows which were to cover 
their lives. No greater task or trust was ever com- 
mitted to man than to be the custodian of the Son 
of God in his helpless infancy. Joseph was the true 
''Christopher" or Christ-bearer. He accepted the 
burden as cheerfully as Mary. It was a burden. It 
sent him from home to a strange land for two years, 
and made him the possible object of suspicion to 
watchful civil and ecclesiastical powers. Joseph sings 
no "Magnificat." He seems to have been a simple, 
silent, faithful man. He toils at the bench and fills 
his allotted place, and passes out of the narrative 
without record, probably dying, as tradition tells, 
early in Jesus' life. 

The rite of circumcision placed the receiver under 
obligation, as the apostle tells us, to keep the whole 
law. Christ entered on that obligation. It was the 
first act of the life of "righteousness" he was to live. 
In that one act he was committed to the keeping of 
the whole law in all its spiritual as well as all its 



T40 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

literal ceremonies. The name "Jesus," given by 
God's command, was a common one. It has become 
an uncommon one to us by his adoption of it ; but at 
that day there were many of the name of Jesus. It 
was, as has been mentioned, the name of Israel's 
victorious leader who brought them into the promised 
land. For this and its meaning, "Saviour," it was 
chosen. 

The unrecorded thirty years of the life of Jesus 
were not particularly different from the life of others 
at that time. The record of his childhood gives all 
we need to know : • ' The child grew and waxed 
strong, filled with wisdom : and the grace of God was 
upon him." 1 Here is natural growth of every kind. 
He came to recognize his mother and other members 
of the household. He learned to crawl and to walk, 
holding his mother's hand. He took his first step 
alone. He learned to speak a few small words and 
names. He played with other children, and learned 
to run errands, and helped about the humble home. 
He became an apprentice to Joseph's trade, and learned 
the use of tools, and how to make yokes and pails 
and plows. He was taught to say prayers and verses 
of Scripture, and was taken to the synagogue, and at 
twelve to the temple. He learned to read and write. 

If, as we believe, Joseph died early in the life of 
Jesus, he was left with the burden of the support of 
the family upon him as the eldest son. He toiled 
early and late ; he bought materials and sold the 
articles of his handiwork. He was "in favor with 
God and man. " He was a good, obliging neighbor, a 
kind brother, an honest tradesman, a dutiful son. As 
the oldest son and the support of the family, he would 
or should have had some authority. No doubt this 
would be disputed, and there would arise occasions 
for the display of all forbearance and wisdom. He 
lived these years in Nazareth. It was a poor place, 
and the family were poor, and it was a daily struggle 

1 Luke ii. 40. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. I4I 

for food and clothing. Jesus was always poor. Doubt- 
less he often went hungry that others might have 
enough, and helped those still poorer than himself. 

Spiritually his teacher was the Holy Spirit. The 
text-books were Nature, Man, and Scripture. He 
was a close observer of nature. What he afterward 
spoke of lilies and sparrows and growing crops, was 
doabtless learned in these early years. So also of the 
panorama of human life passing before him. The 
parables were doubtless all actual events of which he 
knew. He observed men sowing and shepherds going 
after lost sheep and a woman looking for a lost coin 
and the joy she felt at its recovery. He heard of a 
younger son who went into a far country and came 
back the poorer for his trip. He watched wedding 
feasts. He learned of debtors and creditors and their 
doings. But his great text-book was the Scriptures, 
especially the Pentateuch and the Psalms. His mind 
penetrated its meaning with lightning-like rapidity and 
accuracy ; yet it was learning by the process of read- 
ing and thinking over its meaning and comparing 
scripture with scripture. It was doubtless his early 
proficiency which made him the reader in the syna- 
gogue. 

His inner life was lived alone. His brothers did 
not appreciate his spiritual desires. He soon got be- 
yond his mother in thoughts. Nazareth was the most 
uncongenial place in the land for him. It was a rude, 
coarse, and godless place. He was as much alone as 
his forerunner in the deserts. There is no natural or 
divine requirement to think that the human nature of 
Jesus was any departure from the laws of heredity. 
He was like his mother in his human disposition as 
far as we can read hers and know his. He was seri- 
ous and meditative, yet capable of great outbursts of 
expression. We judge from Scripture that his voice 
was low and his manners quiet. He was not strong 
physically, but could on an emergency put forth great 



142 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

and long-continued efforts, leaving him utterly ex- 
hausted. He was never jovial but extraordinarily 
sympathetic. He could be ironical and even severe. 
He could and did show anger, and could terrify by his 
looks. Strong men felt they were in the presence of 
a master before that plain Galilean. The personal ap- 
pearance of Jesus is not made a matter of particular 
mention in Scripture. There are few personal allu- 
sions of any kind. Evidently the person of the earthly 
Jesus is not to be the subject of contemplation or of 
picture. We have this, however, about him: "He 
hath no form or comeliness, and when we see him, 
there is no beauty that we should desire him." •• His 
visage was so marred more than any man, and his 
form more than the sons of men. " 1 The conventional 
pictures are probably very far from his actual appear- 
ance. They are all Grecian in face, and Jesus was 
a Jew. 

We must not suppose the spiritual life of Jesus at 
this time was one of unruffled peace. It was a life 
of struggle every way. It was the same as the life of 
a believer. ' ' Since the children are sharers in flesh 
and blood, he also in like manner partook of the 
same. ... It behooved him in all things to be 
made like unto his brethren. . . . He himself hath 
suffered being tempted." 2 He had a daily battle 
against the common temptations of man. If we can 
judge from ancestry, he had in his physical nature 
that which made temptation a terrible thing to him. 
We must not in our conception of the divinity of 
Jesus, remove him beyond the power of temptation. 
He had a fair, full trial of human life. He was 
tempted or tried in all points as we are, and each of 
us knows what that is. It is temptation from within 
as well as from without, and from the beginning to 
the close of life. 

Jesus had to pray and resist and struggle and 
turn away from temptation. It was not temptation 
1 Isa. Hi. 14; liii. 2. 2 Heb. ii. 14, 17, 18. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. I/J3 

hurling its shafts against a stone wall but against flesb 
and blood. He was "the Word made flesh." He 
was "in the likeness of sinful flesh." His was a 
body derived from a weak, sinful woman. " He took 
upon him man's nature with the essential properties 
and common infirmities. " a His sinlessness was not 
the result of unimpressibility, but of constant and 
perfect victory over sin. Temptation may be met 
in several ways. It may be felt and yielded to. It 
may be met, considered, struggled against, and finally 
yielded to ; it may be felt, considered, struggled 
against, and rejected ; or it may be felt and instantly 
rejected and struggled against. This latter was we 
think the way with Jesus. He felt it all in all its 
forms, and resisted and came through stainless, the 
first in human form who so did. Those thirty silent 
years of his life were years of struggle. 

The life of Jesus was a development from the 
manger to the ascension. In this also he traveled 
our path. "For it became him, for whom are all 
things, and through whom are all things, in bringing 
many sons unto glory, to make the author of their sal- 
vation perfect through sufferings. For both he that 
sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one : 
for which cause he is not ashamed to call them breth- 
ren." 2 There is more in the believer's life than resist- 
ing temptation. That is negative ; there is a positive 
side also. He was developed and 4 ' made perfect. " All 
which implies increase of gifts and graces and devel- 
opment of all spiritual parts. The waiting until thirty 
years of age before beginning his mission, means more 
than simply waiting until he was at the priestly age. 
It meant waiting until maturity. He was gathering 
the strength which was to be poured out in the few 
short years of his ministry. They were to be years 
of expenditure of all the forces he had, as we shall 
see. He needed all the strength he could accumu- 
late. 

1 WMtmloiter Conf esiion, chap. vii. tee. a. • Heb. ti. 10. 



144 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

We do not know when Jesus came to the conscious- 
ness of his divinity and mission. 1 He " grew in wis- 
dom, " and so probably came gradually to the knowledge 
of who and what he was. At the age of twelve he 
had a knowledge of God as his Father, but it is not 
certain that this was the knowledge of his divinity. 
Whether his mother ever told him of his divine origin 
is very doubtful. It would not be according to the 
ways of God that the knowledge of his Sonship should 
rest in ever so slight a measure on the word of any 
save himself. Jesus followed our experiences. We 
are not without light as to how he came to know his 
Sonship. Certainly there was a time when he did 
not know, and the time came when he did come to 
know. We come to faith in God and his mercy by the 
Word. On this we rest in simple faith. There fol- 
lows the witness of the Spirit, witnessing with our 
spirits that we are the sons of God ; there follows 
this the experiences of the believer, such as love for 
the brethren, which also tell him he is a child of 
God. It is according to the analogy to believe Jesus 
came to see himself a son of God before he came to 
know himself as the Son of God. We may believe 
the time came to Jesus in childhood when he knew 
of God, and when he desired to be a child of God, 
and, led by this desire, to yield himself up to God 
to be his, and perhaps later a desire to serve God in 
some special way and to present his body a living 
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. All the spir- 
itual experiences the Christian has gone through, we 
may be sure Jesus also experienced. By the Scrip- 
ture he came to know of a .oming Messiah and the 
time and place and events of his coming. By the 
Holy Spirit's still small voice he was told he him- 
self was the Messiah, and by the subsequent ex- 
periences he was further certified of his Messiahship. 
Doubtless one of the marks he saw in himself was 
the Messiah feeling for Israel. They were as sheep 

i For further comment on Christ's coming to knowledge of 
His divinity and mission see Appendix, Note 2. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 45 

without a shepherd. His whole heart went out to 
them to save them. 

After Jesus' commencement of his office, there 
was a difference, if not before, in the manner of 
receiving or knowing the truth. It was certainly 
different from that of any prophet. John the Baptist 
makes this clear : ' ' What he hath seen and heard, 
of that he beareth witness." 1 How he saw and 
heard, Jesus tells in these words : ' ' The Son can do 
nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father 
doing : for what things soever he doeth, these the Son 
also doeth in like manner." 2 He refers again to his 
learning in these words : "I do nothing of myself, 
but as the Father taught me, I speak these things. 
... I speak the things which I have seen with my 
Father." 8 He here refers undoubtedly to his pre- 
existence, but his knowledge was continuous also : 
• ' The words that I say unto you I speak not from 
myself ; but the Father abiding in me doeth his 
works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the 
Father in me."* 

Jesus was in constant communication with his 
Father. The unseen world was constantly open to 
his vision. "Ye shall see the heaven opened and the 
angels of God ascending and descending upon the 
Son of man," 6 refers not to an occasional or future 
experience of Jesus, but to a necessary condition to 
be given the disciples by which they would be able to 
see as Elisha's servant saw the angels who were there 
before. 

In this secret assurance he goes to the baptism of 
John at Jordan. He gazes on the scene. He well 
knows what it means to the people and to himself. 
He quietly waits until all have been baptized, and 
steps forward to offer himself for the rite. John 
recognizes him and expostulates. This draws from 

x John iii. 32. "John. v. 19. ' John viii. 28, 38. 

4 John xiv. 10, 11 'John i. 5 1. 

IO 



I46 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

Jesus that which gives us the meaning of his baptism 
— "Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." 
It was confession of sin and an act of repentance as 
to the law. All John did was to make reformed Jews 
of his converts. He brought them back again to 
the law. So Jesus, in submitting to baptism, took 
his place as a sinner who needed repenting. He 
identified himself with that guilty, conscience-stricken 
throng. It was his first act of personal substitution. 
It meant more to Jesus. The Jordan was the boun- 
dary over which Israel crossed into the promised land. 
Crossing the Jordan fully committed them to all the 
risks and all the gains of the future. And entering 
the land, as they did and were commanded, they 
passed between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim and be- 
tween the blessings and the cursings. All this Jesus 
knew. It was therefore to him a full committal, first 
to his own personal obligation to keep the law ; and 
by identifying himself with Israel in baptism he 
thereby made himself liable for all the consequences 
of violated law on their part. It was a formal act by 
which Jesus accepted the whole mission before him, 
and fully committed himself to it. 

Three divine manifestations follow the baptism, — 
the Open Heaven, the Descending Spirit, the Voice 
of God saying, ' ' Thou art my beloved Son. In thee 
I am well pleased." 1 These three had each a special 
meaning to Jesus. The Open Heaven was the attes- 
tation of God to his sinlessness. Never since the 
withdrawal of the divine, visible presence had heaven 
and earth been united, for heaven must be shut to a 
guilty world, but here was one over whom heaven 
could open. The Voice of God was the open ac- 
knowledgment of his Sonship. The third was the 
Descent of the Holy Ghost. It was the anointing. 
It was this which gave him his name — the Christ. 
Anointing was performed on the sick to give health 

1 Luke iii. 22. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 47 

and strength, and upon guests as a mark of honor, and 
upon persons set apart for special service or office, as 
prophets, priests, and kings. In all these meanings, 
it may be considered. It was God's strength given 
Jesus. It was earth's guest so honored. It was, chief 
of all, the setting apart of Jesus to his life work. 

The anointing of Jesus was also that of power for 
service. It was in the power of the Spirit he hence- 
forth did and spake, suffered, died, and rose again. 
He had laid aside his primeval glory and power as we 
have seen. This was not his assumption of these 
again, for that did not occur until he ascended. 
This is the filling of the Holy Spirit. Now he re- 
ceives that energy and power by which he wrought 
all his miracles and all he did up to his taking his 
place at God's right hand. It is expressly stated that 
by the Spirit he was led up into the wilderness to be 
tempted of the devil ; by the Spirit he preached ; by 
the Spirit he cast out devils, and wrought all his 
miracles ; by the Spirit he knew all things. It was 
by the Spirit he knew the hearts of men and the 
future. All was given him by the anointing of the 
Holy Spirit. 

There is a difference between the Holy Spirit in 
Christ and the believer. In the believer the Holy 
Spirit divides gifts to each severally as he wills. 1 In 
Christ abode the entire personality of the Holy Spirit. 
' ' In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead 
bodily. " 2 We receive of Christ's fulness, — "Of his 
fulness we all received, and grace for grace." 3 The 
Church as one body has now the Holy Spirit in all 
his fulness, but no one person has such a measure. 
The believer may be filled with the Spirit, but it is 
according to his measure. ' ' Unto each one of us was 
the grace given according to the measure of the gift of 
Christ. " * While of Christ it is said : ' ' He whom God 

1 1 Cor. xii. II. 8 Col. ii. 9. 

•John i. 16. * Eph. iv. 7. 



I48 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

hath sent speaketh the words of God ; for he giveth 
not the Spirit by measure. " l It was in the similarity 
of the power and not in the measure of it that Jesus 
was made like unto his brethren. Hence we see all 
the Old Testament prophets did, Jesus afterward did. 
On the other hand every miracle of Jesus can be 
paralleled by one from the records of the prophets 
and apostles. So the apostles knew what was in the 
hearts of men. Peter read Ananias and Simon the 
sorcerer, and Paul again and again did likewise. So 
also they spake. Indeed Jesus said, " Greater works 
than these shall he do. " 2 There is great strength to 
the believer in thinking he has the same power as his 
Lord. All that Jesus was and did and endured the 
believer may also enjoy according to the measure of 
the gift of grace given him. 

The anointing was also Jesus' preparation for 
temptation. There were several purposes in his be- 
ing "led up of the Spirit to be tempted of the devil." 
As a man he needed that which comes from the 
struggle. As a Saviour he was to be tested for his 
work, and as the head of the church he was to be 
tempted in all points as his brethren are. As the 
Redeemer he had to meet the great enemy of souls. 
Satan is the prince of this world. He was not the 
being to sit still and see his kingdom invaded and his 
supremacy imperiled. This was to Satan the crisis of 
his existence. There was in his mind that unbelief 
which he holds to all the people of God. He believed 
in God and trembled, but he neither believed in 
Christ nor trembled at his presence. He certainly 
acted as if there was a possibility of success in the 
attempt. He saw one in human form and nature 
under actual human conditions. He had never failed 
to overcome such. In this spirit and confidence 
Satan approaches the object of his hatred. He 
probably appeared at first in the person of a holy 

x John iii. 34. l Jobnxiv. 12. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 49 

pilgrim or recluse, of which the wilderness had many 
living in solitude for the gain of purity or piety or as 
a relief from the vain world about them. In the 
subsequent temptation, however, Satan disclosed his 
personality, seeing it useless to try to deceive Jesus. 
The time was opportune for the temptation. Jesus 
was in the wilderness. He was weakened by the fast 
of the forty days. He was exposed to the peculiar 
dangers of solitude. 

The temptation of Jesus was a repetition of that 
of Adam. It appealed to the threefold nature of 
man, — "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, 
and the vain glory of life." 1 It was an epitome of 
all temptation from that day to this. The second 
Adam entered the struggle where the first Adam 
failed. The first Adam and the second Adam were 
representatives of mankind appointed of God. These 
respective trials were therefore world-wide in their 
scope. Satan begins with the lowest nature — the 
flesh. He always does with man. If he can tempt 
by the flesh, he need not try any higher form. Christ 
is hungry, and he tempts him by offer of food. 

A distinction must be discerned between the sin 
to which Jesus was tempted and the appeal by which 
he was attacked : "If thou art the Son of God, com- 
mand this stone that it become bread." 8 It implied 
a doubt of his Sonship, and this implied doubt of God 
who had a little before said, ' ' Thou art my beloved 
Son ; in thee I am well pleased. " It was the same 
attack as that of Eden — a doubt of God. This was 
directed also against his claims as Creator. It also 
questioned his claim as the Jehovah who fed Israel in 
the wilderness with manna. The test covered the 
whole past of the life of Christ as born of God, as 
Creator, as Jehovah. The act proposed was right 
enough in itself. He was hungry He must eat or 
starve. ' ' Why not take care of yourself ; you have 

1 1 John ii. 16. z Luke iv. 3. 



150 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

the power and the right. Here, take this stone, 
command it to be made bread." It is significant that 
in all his after miracles Jesus never did turn stones 
into bread. The temptation by want is the most 
common to-day. Men struggle most fiercely for the 
means of living, and for this most wrong-doing is 
committed. It represents all demands of the flesh. 
The second temptation was an offer of universal 
dominion. Rome ruled the world, and Satan ruled 
Rome. To make this one or that one emperor was 
to him a small thing. He could have made Jesus so 
as well as any other. So this was his offer: " Bow 
down and worship me, and all shall be thine. It will 
give you the opportunity you want. You can be thus 
a world ruler and reformer." It is so still. "Get 
wealth, power, and so you can do good." The third 
temptation was more subtle still. Seeing the spir- 
itual nature of Jesus, he proposes a spiritual tempta- 
tion, the performance of a mighty deed of faith in 
God. Probably there was a purpose to further his 
Messiahship. The Jews expected a Messiah who 
would give them a sign. ' ' What better sign than 
this ? Descend from the pinnacle of the temple ; you 
need fear no evil, for he will give his angel charge 
over thee ; and as you alight in the midst of the won- 
dering throng, and they see your power, they will 
accept you at once as the Messiah." The attitude 
of Jesus in these three temptations was that of pas- 
sive resistance. He simply declines the conflict as 
he declines the offers. It will not be thus Satan is 
to be defeated. He refuses to discuss with him the 
question of his relationship to God, the world, or the 
church, which the three temptations respectively ques- 
tion. With a few words of Scripture he replies to' 
Satan, and he retires. Satan attacks Jesus hereafter 
through others rather than directly. He speaks 
through Peter ; he raises storms ; he afflicts poor 
creatures, and excites opposition among the people ; 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. I 5 I 

and finally inspires Judas and the Jews to destroy 
him. But he meets him again after a season. 

Jesus returns and enters his work. He has been 
tested in all the ways of trial and found true. Yet there 
is no restless looking for work. Jesus always waited his 
time. So now we see him with the power of the 
Spirit upon him, and a nation to bring back to God, 
and he is at a wedding feast and by his miracle assist- 
ing to promote the enjoyment of the occasion. He 
seems to have returned from the baptism to his home, 
and we read of him with his family. But soon he 
leaves Nazareth and goes to Capernaum, where he 
resides, probably with one of his disciples. The 
family soon after follow him. 

But there are hints of trouble in his family rela- 
tionship. His brethren do not believe in him. They all, 
mother as well, think him beside himself, and seek to 
divert him from his work or at least restrain him. 
He openly and formally renounces all family ties and 
declares, ' ' Who is my mother ? and who are my 
brethren ? and he stretched his hand toward his dis- 
ciples, and said, Behold my mother and my breth- 
ren." 1 This seems to have been the final separation 
from the home and ties of his youth. The breaking 
of home ties was no light effort for Jesus. We must 
not extinguish natural affection in our conception of 
him. He was complete man as well as God. He 
had all the tender feelings of a son and brother and 
friend and neighbor. But these came between him 
and his work, his duty to God and man, so he lays on 
the altar the dearest affection- of the human heart and 
says farewell to the earthly mother whom he never 
after recognizes in that relationship. For this he 
was no doubt censured. This was hard to bear, but 
was one of the burdens of the Christ, and is so still to 
some of his people. 

He was, as to his after life from this on, wholly 
dependent. Jesus was poor. He was literally penni- 

1 Matt. xii. 48,49. 



152 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

less. When he wanted a penny for an illustration, 
he was obliged to borrow one. He took what was 
given him. He accepted invitations to meals or lodg- 
ing. But he was often hungry, and is seen seeking 
for a few over-looked figs on a tree and raw grain 
from the fields to satisfy his hunger. He slept often 
in the open air. It was a poor living the Creator got 
on his own earth. 

Jesus was wholly natural and unassuming. He 
was neither in manner nor voice peculiar. It was 
foretold of him, " He shall not strive, nor cry aloud ; 
neither shall any one hear his voice in the streets." 1 
It was neither outward looks nor sensational conduct 
which made Jesus famous. He did not seek notoriety 
but often avoided the crowd. He did not run after 
people, but waited for them to come to him. But he 
made himself accessible ; he went everywhere. He 
was footloose to go anywhere. He mingled with the 
people ; and, in the first year, was not especially ob- 
served. He was to those who saw him simply the 
carpenter of Nazareth. He went to marriages and 
feasts and through the market-places. He was al- 
ways on duty, however. He was Christ as much at a 
wedding as on the cross. He met all kinds of people. 
When he became famous, he was invited to the ta- 
bles of the rich, and he went. He was the most 
approachable man who ever walked the earth. Wo- 
men and the poor and the outcast accosted him and 
feared not to be repulsed. He was at home and self- 
possessed in every circle. He was regarded by fisher- 
men as one of themselves, and Pharisees saw that he 
was equal to all their questionings. He was scarcely 
ever alone ; indeed the hours of necessary devotion 
were hard to get. People were attracted to him, and 
this aside from his miracles. He had no stiff, ecclesi- 
astical mannerisms ; he had no assumed dignity. He 
was not afraid people would take advantage of him 

*Matt. xii. 19. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 53 

or impose upon him. Jesus was "the Son of man" 
in a whole-hearted devotion to every human being 
who needed or wanted his help. He talked with an 
outcast woman, and ate with publicans and sinners, 
and shocked the proper and churchly people by his 
so doing. 

That feature of the character of Jesus which most 
drew people then and now to him was his compas- 
sion. Again and again is it said, ' ' He had compas- 
sion on them." That which drew out his compassion 
most was the spiritually deserted condition of the 
common people. He described them as sheep not 
having a shepherd. It was a very religious age. 
There were hosts of religious teachers of all kinds, 
and the most splendid services imaginable, costing 
vast sums ; but the common people got little out of 
it all. To them Jesus went. They responded by 
crowds. "The common people heard him gladly." 
It is written : "The people wondered at the gracious 
words which proceeded out of his mouth." 

But the attitude of Jesus was not all that of unvary- 
ing graciousness. He was sometimes severe and on 
some occasions angry. With hypocrisy he had no pa- 
tience. The most scathing words which ever came 
from prophet's lips he addressed to them : "Ye ser- 
pents, ye offspring of vipers ! How shall ye escape 
the judgment of hell?" 1 He was especially grieved 
at the blindness of the people to their Messiah and 
the unbelief of his disciples. Nothing seemed to 
give him such pleasure as to find one in whom was 
full faith. He eulogizes it wherever he finds it. He 
never hesitates to rebuke any, even his loved disci- 
ples for a wrong spirit, and calls Peter "Satan," as 
he tries to dissuade him from the cross. In his 
cleansing of the temple, there was evidently a depart- 
ure from his usual calm bearing. There is every in- 
dication of intense energy not unmingled with anger. 

'Matt, xxiii. 33. 



154 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

He drives out the herds of cattle and sheep, lashing 
them with the whip of cords. He orders in stern 
tones the removal of the cages of doves, and indig- 
nantly hurls out of his way the stands of the money- 
changers. 

Jesus had in coming a threefold mission — to Israel, 
the church, and the world. The mission of Jesus was 
first of ail to Israel. He came as their Messiah. In 
his early ministry he sought Israel exclusively. "I 
was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of 
Israel" 1 was his own declaration as to his mission. 
Jesus was Israel's prophet. He came as the fulfil- 
ment of the priestly types of Israel's worship. He 
was emphatically the King of Israel, born of the royal 
line and in the royal city. The words and work of 
Jesus must be looked at in this exclusive light first 
of all, if we would understand their meaning. It was 
the Jehovah coming to be recognized and received by 
his own. To this end the whole life of Jesus was 
lived on a prearranged and predicted plan, all for the 
purpose of identification. 

So, too, the teachings of Jesus were all evidence 
of his claims. The Old Testament was his great text- 
book. He emphasized the law and upheld it. He 
showed his authority over it by amending it when he 
saw necessary, saying, ' ' Ye have heard that it hath 
been said by them of old time, An eye for an eye and 
a tooth for a tooth : but I say unto you, Resist not him 
that is evil." 2 This is no disannulling but an addition 
to the law. He claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath. 
He by all this treatment of the law showed he was 
the Author of it. All his miracles were also adapted 
to this end. They were repetitions of those of the 
Old Testament. The power over the sea was the 
same as that of Moses ; the miracle of the loaves also 
was as the work of Jehovah in the wilderness. In 

»MatL xv. 24. "Matt. v. 38, 39. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 55 

the healing of the leper, they could see the God 
of Elisha. Jesus wondered that they could not see 
in him their Jehovah. It was this he meant when he 
said, "The works that I do they testify of me." It 
was to Jesus as Israel's Jehovah that his life teachings 
and words testified. 

The force of this argument for the divinity of 
Jesus, not only to Israel then, but to all in every age, 
will be seen by reviewing the Messianic predictions. 
They number hundreds, and are remarkable for par- 
ticularity and novelty of detail. They refer to his 
coming ; the design of his mission ; his divinity ; his 
nation, tribe, and family ; the year he was to come ; 
the place of his birth ; the messenger who was to pre- 
cede him ; his virgin mother ; the worship by the wise 
men ; the massacre of the babes at Bethlehem ; his 
Egyptian sojourn ; his grace, and the gift of the Holy 
Spirit ; that he should preach and how and what he 
should preach ; that he should work miracles and 
cleanse the temple ; his triumphal entry into Jeru- 
salem ; that he should be hated, persecuted, betrayed 
by one of his own, and sold for thirty pieces of silver ; 
his disciples to forsake him ; false witnesses to testify 
against him ; his silence under all this ; the smiting 
and plucking out of the hair of his face; the scourging 
and his death by their unusual way of nailing to the 
cross ; the piercing of his hands and his side; the offer 
of gall and vinegar ; the parting of his raiment and 
casting lots for his vesture ; the mocking, his patience 
under all this ; praying for his enemies ; that not a 
bone should be broken ; that malefactors were to be 
associated with him in his death ; that he was to die 
in the midst of his life and be buried with the rich. 

Many of these are events which appear to be 
wholly incompatible with each other and with the 
circumstances of the time, place, character, and work 
of the Messiah ; and are such as would never occur to 
any one attempting to foist a series of predictions 



156 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

upon the world. No such person would attempt to 
make the Messiah appear in two such apparently in- 
congruous positions as his state of humiliation and 
dignity. Indeed this was the point the Israelites 
could not understand. They therefore supposed there 
must be two Messiahs, one of humble state and the 
other coming in glory. They could not see how he 
could be of royal descent, have a forerunner, be wor- 
shiped by the wise men, ride in triumph into Jeru- 
salem, be buried with the rich, and, at the same time, 
be poor, persecuted, scourged, mocked, and crucified. 
By the law of probabilities the simultaneous occur- 
rence of these many and diverse details, with all 
their possible combinations, would not be one in a 
million million. This would be the chance a putter- 
forth of such a series of predictions would run of 
having his prophecies come to pass. When it is re- 
membered that these predictions were in existence hun- 
dreds of years before Jesus came, as is evidenced by 
the Septuagint version of the Scriptures ; and that 
Jesus' life corresponded thereto as acknowledged by 
all ; we see all the marks of a divine prediction and 
fulfilment which testify unanswerably that Jesus was 
the predicted Messiah of Israel and God's Son for the 
world. 

Yet Jesus did not openly and publicly announce 
himself as the Christ. The partly concealing and 
partly revealing is seen in the titles applied by him- 
self. He is called " Son of David" by others, but he 
does not openly and formally so speak of himself. 
His favorite title is "The Son of Man." This occurs 
frequently in the Old Testament especially in Ezekiel ; 
to whom it is applied nearly one hundred times. It 
is always applied with disparagement. It is applied 
to Christ but once in the old Testament. The Jews evi- 
dently did not understand it as referring to the Christ, 
and so ask him, "Who is this Son of Man ? " It was 
a peculiar way of presenting himself. We ask why he 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 57 

did not openly say, "I am the Christ;" but he did 
not, save to a few individuals, and at his trial when 
asked plainly, ' ' Art thou the Christ ? " when he re- 
plied affirmatively. This peculiar way of presenting 
himself was for the purpose of securing the true- 
hearted ones. Those who were looking for him or 
seeking truth or were willing to receive it when pre- 
sented, would recognize it and receive him. All others 
would not, or seeing him would hate him the more. 
It is the divine way to-day and always. The evidence 
for Christianity is enough for those who wish to know 
the truth and are willing to do the right. Others cannot 
be convinced or will not act accordingly if convinced. 
To such there are difficulties in the Bible and Chris- 
tianity and, above all, in Christians, enough to turn 
them away. 

Israel rejected their Jehovah, and by that act lost 
the place as the favored people in the plan of God as 
the evangelizing nation of the earth, until they turn 
again to Christ. It was no oversight or surprise to 
God. His purposes and plans are always capable of 
adjustment to the various possible outcomes of any 
event. Indeed we have seen that from the beginning 
all was foreseen and provided for. We ask with pro- 
priety, What would have been the outcome if Israel 
had accepted Jesus as their Messiah? — He would 
have undoubtedly accepted their allegiance, and be- 
come their spiritual Leader. He would have re- 
formed their ways and worship. He would have sent 
missions to the scattered ten tribes and called them 
also to the truth. All this would have brought upon 
him the animosity of the Roman power, who would in 
time have arrested him. He would have been betrayed 
by some of his own and crucified. Of this Israel as a 
nation would have been guiltless. They would have 
escaped the long ages of trouble. The end of the age 
of sin would have come sooner, and the establishment 
of the kingdom greatly hastened. The rejection of 



158 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

the Messiah by Israel was followed by their overthrow 
as a nation, the destruction of their city, and all that 
made up the old economy. We must recognize the 
unity and continuity of the divine plan in the ages. 
The overthrow of that age leaves a remnant as each 
of the previous ages did. Of this remnant Jesus gath- 
ered the nucleus before his ascension. The Israel- 
itish age yielded a chosen company with which once 
more to sow the earth. 

In the formation of the Christian church, Jesus uses 
the order of the Israelitish church. It is one body 
as to all true believers who follow in the faith of 
Abraham, the great founder of the church. The 
number of the apostles and of the seventy are both 
those of the tribes and eldership of Israel. So the 
sacraments of the Israelitish church are perpetuated 
in the sacraments of the Christian church. Circum- 
cision and the passover still exist in baptism and 
the Lord's supper. We have in the Lord's day the 
Sabbath. Our churches are the synagogues little 
changed ; our church officers those of Israel little 
modified. We read and believe their Scriptures. 
Their hope is ours. 

To the institution of the church Jesus gave the 
last year of his life. The increasing opposition made 
intercourse with the public less frequent. He was 
much alone with his disciples. The followers of Jesus 
appear to have gathered about him in concentric cir- 
cles. Inside the number of those who believed in 
him there were the seventy. The twelve were a 
closer circle. Within this circle were the three who 
accompanied him on three, and doubtless many other 
special occasions. There was one out of these who was 
not content until he leaned his head on Jesus' bosom. 
We are reminded of David's similar surroundings. 
Out of the tribes Judah was nearest ; his chosen 
band still nearer, and among these the thirty mighty 
ones, and out of these the "three mightiest," one of 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 59 

whom was the superior of all. When Jesus left, there 
were not probably more than five hundred, a band 
about as large as that which was faithful to David. 
These Jesus left as the beginning of the great struc- 
ture of the church. 

On the disciples gathered by Jesus, he so impressed 
himself that they went out repetitions of himself. He 
wrote no books, but what he said was recorded with 
perfect accuracy, as seen by the gospels of four widely 
different persons. His words and acts were imprinted 
upon their memories and by them recorded without 
bias or opinion. There is in the Gospels the absence 
of the usual laudatory expressions and general com- 
ment of biographers. The Gospels are perfect photo- 
graphs of the life and words of Jesus. The special 
love of Jesus for his own is seen in his intercourse 
with his disciples, particularly the twelve. To these he 
addressed words of great tenderness such as, ' ' Your 
Father careth for you;" "The very hairs of your 
head are all numbered;" "Fear not little flock ; it 
is your Father's good pleasure to give you the 
kingdom." 

The teachings of Jesus are the constitution of the 
church, to which he expects all his people to conform. 
Again and again he urges them in such words as these, 
' ' Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things 
which I say ;" "If ye love me, keep my command- 
ments." His blessings are conditioned on obedience, 
and the one who hears and does not is like a man 
who builds on the sand. His last command to the 
world outside, after making disciples and receiving 
them into the church, was, ' ' Teaching them to observe 
all things whatsoever I commanded you. " The life and 
teachings of Jesus furnish the picture of the possibili- 
ties of a regenerate life. His own words were, ' ' Fol- 
low me." To live after the teachings of Christ is 
possible to every believer. What the Holy Spirit did 
in Jesus, he will do in degree for any and every one 

1 Matt, xxviii. 20. 



l6o CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

who will follow Jesus. The branches are partakers 
with the vine of its life, beauty, fragrance, and use- 
fulness. The teachings of Jesus describe the char- 
acter of those who attain to the kindgom. They are 
the standard of citizenship. By his words will all be 
judged. The Sermon on the Mount is the spiritual 
exposition of the law. It is designed for conviction, 
and is the most searching message which can be ad- 
dressed to those who believe in Christ. 

The gospels contain the model of Christian work. 
When Jesus said, "Follow me, and I will make you 
fishers of men," he gave the secret of success. In 
preaching, in working, in life, the great example is 
He who spake as never man spake. The work of 
Jesus was threefold. He saved bodies, souls, and 
spirits. His was a mission to sickness, sorrow, and 
sin. He contemplated the whole man. The church 
has in a measure followed his example. The hospital, 
the school, and the church have sprung up together, 
or rather the two former from the latter. 

The mission of Jesus was larger than Israel or 
even the church. It was world-wide and universal. 
This is seen in himself. Jesus is not to be thought of 
as a Jew although he was one. He was the "Son 
of man." He was the universal man. He was in 
the highest sense a cosmopolitan, a world man. He 
is felt to be a brother to every man and in every 
age. Black and white, rich and poor, see in Jesus 
their brother. He rises above all rank and race. 
He is an inhabitant of every land. There is no other 
personage, real or imaginary, who is so universally re- 
ceived by men of every age, race, and rank. All oth- 
ers are local, and belong to their time and partake of 
their nation. Jesus belongs to mankind. 

John is the chronicler of the gospel for the world. 
The word " world " occurs in his writings more often 
than in all the other New Testament books. To 
John, Jesus is the Saviour of the world. He is pre- 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. l6l 

sented by him in great world-wide figures — Light, 
Water, Bread, Shepherd, Door, and others under- 
stood everywhere. John alone notes that the world 
was made by Christ, and that God so loved the world 
that he gave his only begotten Son ; that he was the 
Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world ; 
that God sent not his Son into the world to condemn 
the world, but that the world through him might be 
saved ; the remark of the Samaritan that Christ was 
the Saviour of the world ; and Christ's own remark 
that he gave life unto the world, and gave his flesh for 
the life of the world ; that he said, ' ' I am the light of 
the world," that his earthly mission was not to judge 
the world but to save it. It is John who notes the 
saying of Jesus, ' ' That the world may know that I 
love the Father, and as the Father gave command- 
ment even so I do." And again it is John alone who 
writes of the convicting work of the Spirit for the 
world and his petitions in his prayer that the world 
may believe and know that God had sent him. 

In John's Gospel the way of faith is clearly set forth. 
The word "believe" also occurs more in his Gospel 
than in all others. He states distinctly the pur- 
pose of his writing it. ' ' Many other signs therefore 
did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are 
not written in this book : but these are written, that 
ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of 
God ; and that believing ye may have life in his 
name." 1 All this shows the purpose of the whole 
life and work of Jesus as he has expressed it in his 
prayer, — "that the world may believe that thou 
didst send me." 

To the world Jesus presented himself to be be- 
lieved, first as to himself, and then as to his teachings, 
and to be received. Jesus established himself as a 
witness, competent and reliable. The world has ac- 
cepted him as such. That such a man once lived is 
fully admitted by the world. That the Gospels are 
ii 1 J6hn xx. 30, 31. 



1 62 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

the record of his character and words is also fully ad- 
mitted. That he reached the summit of perfection of 
character is another accepted fact. Some well-known 
testimonies to these statements may be repeated here. 
Renan, who denied the divinity of Jesus as Chris- 
tians accept it, writes as follows : — 

— "the incomparable man to whom the universal conscience 
has decreed the title of Son of God, and that with justice. 
Repose now in Thy glory, noble founder! Thy work is finished; 
thy divinity is established. ... A thousand times more alive, 
a thousand times more beloved since thy death than during thy 
passage here below, thou shalt become the corner stone of 
humanity so entirely that to tear thy name from this world 
would be to rend it to its foundations. Between thee and God 
there will be no longer any distinction." 

The Unitarian Theodore Parker wrote : — 

" Shall we be told such a man never lived ? the whole story 
is a lie ? Suppose that Plato or Newton never lived : who 
did their works and thought their thoughts ? It takes a New- 
ton to forge a Newton. What man could have fabricated 
Jesus? — None but a Jesus." 

Jean Paul Richter thus writes of Jesus : — 

"The holiest among the mighty, the mightiest among the 
holy, lifted with his pierced hands empires off their hinges, 
and turned the stream of centuries out of its channel, and still 
governs the ages." 

The infidel Rousseau said : — 

"How petty the book of the philosophers with all pomp 
compared with the Gospels. Can it be that writings at once 
so sublime and so simple are the work of men ? Is there any- 
thing in his character of the enthusiast or the ambitious 
sectary ? What sweetness, what purity in his ways, what 
touching grace in his teachings ; what a loftiness in his max- 
ims, what profound wisdom in his words ; what presence of 
mind, what delicacy and aptness in his replies ; what an em- 
pire over his passions ! Where is the man, where is the sage 
who knows how to act, to suffer, to die without weakness and 
without display ? My friend, men do not invent like this ; 
and the facts respecting Socrates, which no one doubts, are 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 63 

not so well attested as those about Jesus Christ. If the 
death of Socrates be that of a sage, the life and death of 
Jesus are those of a god." 

The testimony of all agrees with these. No 
enemy has ever pointed to a flaw in the life, charac- 
ter, or words of Jesus. His challenge, ' ' Which of 
you convinceth me of sin," has never been met. 

The testimony of Jesus is first of all as to himself. 
In his life he did not rely upon the testimony of 
himself, but on that of others. His life was incom- 
plete, and they did not have, as we have, the full 
Christ. He pointed Israel to the testimony of John 
the Baptist, the predictions of Scripture fulfilled, his 
miracles, the voice of God heard. There is also the 
testimony of his enemies and of such as Pilate and 
the centurion who crucified him, angels and devils, 
and others. It must be borne in mind that all this 
was to Israel. It was evidence for them particularly. 
It was testimony to those who accepted the Scriptures 
and God and the hereafter and a future life and the 
possibility of miracles, and, in fact, all we believe up 
to Christ. The validity of all this depends on the 
New Testament, which must be accepted first. All 
this, then, is testimony for the believer to confirm his 
faith. To quote any of the above evidences to one 
who does not accept the truth of either the New or 
the Old Testament is useless. It is reversing the 
Scripture argument which makes Christ himself the 
foundation of all faith. 

The world is presented with the testimony of Jesus, 
that unimpeachable and accepted witness, as to him- 
self. The claims of Jesus as to himself are the most 
conspicuous part of his teachings. They are utterly 
inconsistent with any theory except their truth. Since 
no one else can account for him, his own account is 
our only resource. He claimed to be the Son of God 
and equal to God in such passages as these : "I and 
the Father are one." 1 "He that hath seen me hath 

^ohn x. 30. 



164 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

seen the Father. " * "The high priest said unto him, I 
adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether 
thou be the Christ the Son of God. Jesus saith unto 
him, Thou hast said." 2 On this statement he was 
condemned to death. Jesus also claimed to have 
preexisted, and to be the final Judge of the living and 
the dead. Jesus also ever declares himself as the sole 
way of salvation : "I am the way and the truth and 
the life ; no one cometh unto the Father, but by me." 8 
He uses such figures as, "I am the Door;" "I am 
the Bread of heaven ; " "I am the Light of the 
World," to express this truth. He declared, "He 
that climbeth up some other way the same is a thief 
and a robber." He claimed to be the only Saviour 
for lost man. 

There is no escape from one of three positions : 
Either Jesus was all he claimed, or he was mistaken, 
or a wilful deceiver. The first is in accord with his 
universally admitted character, the others are utterly 
inconsistent therewith. It is inconceivable that one 
so holy and wise could be deceived as to himself or 
would deceive others. Jesus must be accepted on his 
own claims as the Son of God. Any other conclusion 
would violate all the rules of evidence. In view of 
the spotless character and matchless wisdom of Jesus, 
there is no escape from the conclusion — " Truly this 
was the Son of God." 

The testimony of Jesus to the Scriptures has al- 
ready been mentioned. He declared of the law and 
the prophets : " I came not to destroy, but to fulfil." 4 
Contrast this statement with the word and utterances 
of destructive criticism. The same authority he gave 
his disciples for the New Testament, saying, ' ' He 
that heareth you heareth me ; and he that rejecteth 
you rejecteth me ; and he that rejecteth me rejecteth 
him that sent me." 5 So that the greatest proof of 
the Bible is the testimony of Jesus. The surest as 

•John xiv. 9. 'Matt. xxvi. 63, 64. s Jobn xiv. 6. 

*Matt. v. 17. B Lukex. 16. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. l6$ 

well as briefest argument that the Bible is authentic, 
true, and inspired is — Jesus said so. 

Jesus came as a witness for God. He came to 
reveal God to man. He revealed God by his teach- 
ings, and by himself, his life and acts. In his teach- 
ings he revealed God in nature, in man, and, chief of 
all, in Scripture. The Israelite of that day was a 
neglecter of the great natural volume of divine wis- 
dom. Jesus opened and expounded it and brought 
therefrom lessons of God's love and wisdom ; as in 
the well-known passages: ' ' Behold the birds of 
heaven;" "consider the lilies of the field." He 
called attention to the imminence of God in nature 
in the words, ' ' Not a sparrow falleth to the ground 
without your Father." He declares the plan of God 
in nature and in providence in these words : " The 
earth beareth fruit of herself ; first the blade, then the 
ear, then the full corn in the ear." 1 The scoffers who 
came asking a sign, he points to the sky, and bids 
them learn therefrom. A very large part of the teach- 
ings of Jesus are illustrated by, or wholly taken from, 
the natural works of God. 

Jesus also revealed God in man. He saw in the 
original nature of man and in every natural relation- 
ship the work of God and the impress of God himself. 
He saw God in the good Samaritan and the merciful 
creditor and the prodigal's father. His favorite name 
for God — " Father" — was taken from a human re- 
lationship. He appealed to their own natural pa- 
rental instincts as showing the feelings of God : "If 
ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto 
your children, how much more shall your heavenly 
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ? " 2 
The parables of Jesus were taken wholly from the 
books of nature and humanity. 

But the great revelation which Jesus brought to 
earth was that which he taught of God from the 
Scriptures, which were to him a revelation of the will 

1 Mark iv. 28. ' Luke xi. 13. 



1 66 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

of God, and as such he taught them. But he brought 
out what had been long hidden and almost lost, — ■ 
the spiritual sense and the real desire of God in the 
law. The scope of the Sermon on the Mount was to 
bring out the spirituality of the law. This is the 
sense of the words, ' ' I desire mercy and not sacri- 
fice." 1 Their whole idea of God had been perverted. 
The Jehovah they saw was a being of rites and cere- 
monies who cared for a special class and, like them- 
selves, despised or ignored all others. The law they 
thought was a machine of value in itself and for its- 
self. He showed them its meaning in the words, 
"The Sabbath was made for man and not man for 
the Sabbath." In all this Jesus sought to reveal God 
in the Scriptures. 

The chief revelation of God which Jesus brought 
to man was that which he exhibited in his own nature, 
person, and life. Jesus was himself a revelation of 
God, he was "God manifest in the flesh." What 
Jesus was God is. All the great compassion and ten- 
derness of Jesus is but a reflection of the nature of 
God. Jesus shows fully what Nature and Man re- 
veals partially of God. The evils of nature and the 
imperfection of human life conceal the love of God. 
Looking at life from some standpoints it seems all 
sadness, and nature all wrath. This picture is re- 
lieved by considering Jesus. As he felt and acted 
toward man, so God feels, and so would be his deal- 
ings if man would receive his Son as their Saviour 
and King. To see the love of God for man, Jesus 
must be known and studied. He fully exhibits God's 
holiness also. Jesus was God's idea of perfection. 
Jesus was God's ideal man. He was not simply sin- 
less ; that is not righteousness, still less holiness. 
Jesus was the embodiment of God's idea of perfection. 

Nor was the justice of God lacking in Jesus, 
although he came, as he expressly said, not to judge 

1 Hosea vi. 6 ; Matt ix. 13. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 67 

the world nor to condemn it. But there was a class 
to which Jesus showed no forbearance. The hypocrite 
was the object of his unmeasured severity. Jesus 
seemed willing to stand anything but self-righteous- 
ness and hypocrisy. To those who had the light and 
refused to receive it, he declared the certain conse- 
quences. He upbraided the cities where his mighty 
works were done because they believed not in him. 
All his exposition of the law in the Sermon on the 
Mount was a vindication of the righteousness of God. 

The great hereafter is by Jesus set forth in all its 
grandeur and certainty. In the parable of the rich 
man and Lazarus, he lifts the curtain and shows us 
the course of two souls passing out into the eternity, 
and their respective fates. Jesus knew the future and 
declared it. The great fact of hell is distinctly 
taught by Jesus. The passage above is only one of 
many. He warns against it in these words : ' ' And 
be not afraid of them which kill the body, but are 
not able to kill the soul : but rather fear him which 
is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. " 1 

The great heart motive of Jesus and the greatest 
lesson he came to teach not only this world but all 
worlds and all ages, is seen in the passages such as the 
following which were continually upon his lips: "I 
am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will 
but the will of him that sent me. ... As the Father 
gave me commandment, even so I do. . . . My meat 
is to do the will of him that sent me and to accomplish 
his work." 2 Far above all other motives, however 
great, was this supreme aim. It was his heart's desire. 
His feeling for man comes in order of strength after 
this and because of it. In exhibiting this loyalty to 
God, Jesus supplied the world's greatest need. A re- 
cent writer has said: "The one great aim of all 
philosophy, ancient and modern, has been to discover 
in the nature of things a rational sanction for human 

1 Matt. x. 28. z John vi. 38 ; xiv. 31 ; iv. 34. 



1 68 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

conduct." This great question Jesus came to answer. 
He came to show man the standard of right, the 
great motive of life. He showed it by his words, 
and above all, by his life. To do the will of God, 
was the mainspring of the life and work of Jesus. 

Jesus taught that there is but one self-existing 
God. He himself, although equal in nature, never 
assumes any other than a subordinate place. In 
Jesus we see the most profound reverence for God 
and the most implicit obedience to him, faith in him, 
and dependence upon him. None can surpass in all 
these, him who is "the express image of his person." 
He will have nothing to attract the gaze of man from 
God the Father. All he does he attributes to him. 
It has been repeatedly shown that the whole purpose of 
the creation of man, and all this long procession of ages, 
and all the strange story of sin and sorrow, is to dem- 
onstrate once for all that there must be but one Will, 
and that Will God's, as the law of all existence ; and 
that anything short of this is sin, and as the certain 
consequence, suffering and death. So Jesus came to 
set this perfect example of an absolutely perfect obe- 
dience and whole-hearted yielding up to God, and 
living for him first of all. 

The title which expressed this relationship to God 
was "Son." In this title and relationship we see the 
attitude of Jesus. It is in this relationship there ap- 
pears all that class of passages which speak of the 
subordination of Jesus to the Father. These will not 
be understood unless the great purpose and attitude of 
Jesus is kept in mind in his incarnation, — to exhibit 
a 'perfectly devoted and obedient heart and life. It is 
as Son he says, " My Father is greater than I; " "the 
Son can do nothing of himself." Nor is this assumed 
for the life on earth only. In his eternal state he is seen 
yielding up all to the Father, and dutifully subjecting 
himself to God. This should be the feeling of every 
child of God. It is the greatest possible to man. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 69 

In it is all holiness and all happiness. To seek the 
will of God is that singleness of eye which fills the 
whole heart and life with light. It brings the soul 
into perfect accord with the one Source of all good. 
It was this which Jesus had and which brought him 
the word of God saying, ' ' Thou art my beloved Son ; 
in thee am I well pleased." 

It was not devotion to man first of all, but to 
God which produced that perfect self-abnegation 
which showed itself in the self-forgetfulness and self- 
sacrifice of Jesus. He loved man because he loved 
God. He came to save man because it was the will 
of God. He gave himself for us because he had given 
himself to God. The highest subject of contemplation 
and the great object of affection is God the Father. 
This Jesus taught. He himself directed all attention 
to God. He presents himself as a manifestation of 
God and the way to God. His work is to bring man 
to peace with God, and ultimately to the very presence 
of God ; and then to render up all to God the Father, 
that God may be all in all. Christ in all his media- 
torial work must ever be viewed in this light. He 
does not present himself as the object of our worship, 
but directs us to worship God in his name. So the 
apostles address not Christ but God the Father in all 
the recorded prayers after Christ's ascension. There 
appears to be but one prayer addressed to Jesus, — 
the closing words of John in the Apocalypse, " Even 
so come Lord Jesus, " which is, however, more a re- 
sponse to the previous vocal message of Christ, than 
a prayer. 

From this attitude of the soul to God, there nec- 
essarily follows the right feeling to man. In the per- 
sonal exhibition of this, as has been seen, and as the 
world acknowledges, Jesus surpasses all. His teach- 
ings correspond. The maxims of the world's teachers 
abound in good sayings as to the treatment of others. 
Altruism is not a newly discovered virtue nor exclu- 



I70 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

sively a Christian one. The world has always loved 
its own and done much for the poor and commended 
benevolence. But the teachings of Jesus as to the 
treatment of others as far surpass the sayings of the 
world's sages as his example excels theirs. He over- 
tops the highest, and rises in the greatness of his self- 
sacrifice as far above the world's humanitarianism as in 
his unapproachable divinity above their deities. Soc- 
rates replied, when asked how to treat one's friends : 
" As we would desire they should bear themselves to 
us." Jesus extends this rule to all others as well as 
friends. Confucius taught, " What you do not 
want done to yourself, do not do to others." Seneca 
says, ■ ' Expect from others what you do to others. " 
Compare the rule of Jesus : ' ' As ye would that men 
should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. " The 
rule of Jesus is positive where that of Socrates is neg- 
ative, and active where that of Seneca is merely passive. 
There is no such devotion to man as by those who 
have the Spirit of Jesus. It surpasses all patriotic 
self-sacrifice, all humanitarian benevolence, all natu- 
ral affection. It sinks the love of self, the strongest 
of human feelings, and leads the one fully possessed 
by it to say, ' ' For to me to live is Christ. " 

The ministry of Jesus is divided into three periods 
of about a year each, marked respectively as the pe- 
riods of obscurity, popularity, and opposition. About 
a year was required for his fame to spread, then fol- 
lowed the harvest time, and from this success came 
the jealousy of the Jews which culminated in open 
opposition, ending only at the cross. The space 
given by the evangelists to these periods is significant. 
Matthew allots ten chapters to the last six months, 
and eighteen to all the rest, say three years. Mark 
gives seven chapters to the last six months, and nine 
to all the rest. Luke gives to these periods fourteen 
and ten chapters respectively, and John gives eleven 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 171 

and ten to them. Indeed, in the latter the last eleven 
chapters are devoted to the last week of the life of 
Jesus and the events following. The lesson of this 
is apparent, this is the time of great importance to us 
for whom they wrote. We are therefore to follow 
Christ as he enters upon the great work for which he 
came, which transcends that for Israel and the church, 
and is to affect the world and all eternity. 

The last night of Jesus in earthly form saw the 
formal ending of all he came to do as Israel's Messiah, 
and the transfer of privileges to the church. Yet 
there is no break. The passover fades into the 
Lord's supper almost insensibly. We can scarcely 
tell where the account of the one ends and the other 
begins. In the whole we see Jehovah again prepar- 
ing his people for a greater deliverance. The pass- 
over was the Old Testament picture of Calvary. Jesus 
was the Lamb of God, chosen to give his blood for 
our sprinkling and his flesh for our eating. It is 
significant, as is said, that the passover lamb was pre- 
pared for roasting by having a spit run through from 
head to tail and another from shoulder to shoulder, 
thus forming a cross. Every passover lamb was cru- 
cified. The supper contains in itself the whole gospel 
— the whole truth as to the believer and the church, 
her work and life and hope of the future. Its full 
depths of meaning have never been sounded. 

The feelings of Jesus as he approached the cross 
were those of perfect acquiescence in this divine ap- 
pointment. There was the glad consciousness that 
all the long, vast accumulation of sin was to be atoned 
for by his offering on the cross. But we must not 
suppose that there was an absence of painful feelings 
in Jesus as he contemplated this great act. His state 
can be seen reflected in the faces of the twelve in the 
following passage : " And they were in the way going 
up to Jerusalem : and Jesus was going before them ; 
and they were amazed ; and they that followed were 



172 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

afraid. And he took again the twelve and began to 
tell them the things that were to happen unto him." 1 
This state is reflected in the Messianic Psalms. The 
shadow of the cross fell gradually upon the little band 
who followed him. His warnings of the coming 
tragedy are given with increasing distinctness. First 
he tells them he is to suffer, then to die. Then he 
tells that he is to be betrayed, and adds, "One of 
you shall betray me ; " and at the table first privately 
to John, close to him at one side, by the sign of the 
sop ; and at last to the traitor next him on the other 
side. The walk out to Gethsemane was a silent one. 
The circumstances of the company, surrounded by 
enemies and now being watched by a traitor, called 
for the protection of secrecy. The dark, rough, and 
narrow streets were no place for conversation. The 
disciples were oppressed by the solemn events of the 
evening, and his repeated warnings of approaching 
danger. 

What personal conflicts Jesus had with Satan 
after his first temptation are not recorded. They 
were not incessant, for Satan chooses his times and 
opportunities. In the ending of the account of the 
temptation, it is recorded that Satan " departed from 
him for a season." That season had now expired. 
Now was Satan's hour and the power of darkness. 
Gethsemane was not a time of suffering only for 
Jesus. It was an ordeal of fierce temptation. The 
great purpose of Satan in the temptation of Jesus 
in Gethsemane was to prevent the cross, or mar the 
work of Jesus at its close, as by the first temptation 
he would have stopped it at the beginning. The 
cross was the weapon Satan feared most of all. His 
empire was founded on sin and guilt, and the cross 
swept sin and guilt away. The foundation gone, his 
house must fall. Calvary, then, was Satan's object 
of fierce attack in Gethsemane. To prevent the great 

1 Mark x. 32. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 73 

sacrifice was his purpose. He must have known the 
scope of the death of Jesus. He was willing to have 
him die, and stirred up Judas to betray him to the 
Jews, expecting them to kill him by their own hands ; 
but if by this temptation he could prevent the cross, 
that would be better than all. His purposes often 
are at variance, and one instrument is set against an- 
other, he little caring which plan succeeds. 

Gethsemane was also the testing of the victim for 
the passover sacrifice. The Lamb had to be without 
blemish. If fault or flaw was found, it was unfit for 
the sacred use. The great point on which the test 
was to be made was submission to the will of God, 
the original purpose referred to so often, and for which 
the whole history of man is being made. The lamb- 
like submission was the great essential for the pass- 
over sacrifice. There were three elements in the 
trial in Gethsemane which made it terrible, — the 
power of Darkness ; the Hour; and the Cup. It was 
as he said to the band coming to apprehend him, 
"This is your hour and the power of darkness." 1 
Satan was and is always present to defeat the pur- 
pose of God, but there are special marshalings of the 
forces of hell. " The Power of Darkness " was such. 
All that could be put forth of satanic energy was 
present then — the " principalities, the powers, the 
world rulers of this darkness, the spiritual hosts of 
wickedness in the heavenly places." 2 Further, it was 
their ' ' Hour. " It was their set time to do their worst. 
God then gave them permission to try the Son of God 
as he never had been tried before. Lastly, there was 
"the Cup." This figure is used in Scripture to rep- 
resent the portion of the sinner — "the wine of the 
wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup 
of his anger." Jesus took the place of sinful man, 
guilty and doomed man, the worst of men deserving 
of this cup. He must therefore drink of their cup. 

1 Luke xxii. 53. 8 Eph vi. 12. 



174 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

He suffered guilty man's hunger and weariness and 
pain and sorrow. 

The attack was threefold, as the first temptation 
was. This points to the same threefold nature of the 
temptation, involving the three natures and three cor- 
responding forms of temptation. There is indication, 
however, of a reverse order in the presentation. Sa- 
tan would win the main issue, and failing in this, some 
lesser gain. The spiritual attack probably came first. 
It is to this phase of the ordeal the Scripture refers — 
' ' Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against 
sin." 1 It does not seem credible that Satan could 
hope to overthrow Jesus here after his life of trial and 
corresponding gain in all spiritual strength. But we 
must keep in mind that Jesus was fighting our battle 
under our conditions ; that he lived and wrought 
entirely by the Holy Spirit ; that the most holy are 
the most fiercely assaulted. Awful thoughts have 
come into the mind of the purest and best. Doubts 
as to their salvation have tormented the dearest of 
God's children. Suspicions as to God's goodness 
have found a way into the minds of the most trustful. 
There has come over the spirits of the most firm at 
times a doubt of everything. All they have known 
and been sure of has seemed untrue or uncertain. 
The most precious hopes of heaven have seemed a 
hollow sham. All the good one has done vanishes 
from sight, all the usual spiritual comforts are absent. 
Not a promise comes to the mind with any power. 
All is dark and hopeless and awful. There comes a 
strange impulse to rush into some awful delusion or 
to do some wicked thing or even to abandon God and 
hope and heaven. This form of temptation comes 
later in life than that represented by the temptation 
in the wilderness. It comes after a trial of the life 
of the believer, often after much Christian work and 
great success. So Elijan was pressed, — "O Lord, 

1 Heb. xii. 4. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. iy$ 

take away my life, for I am not better than my 
fathers." 1 

What makes this form of temptation so terrible 
is that these thoughts are so mingled in the mind that 
they seem to arise from within. The believer thinks 
he is conceiving all this himself, and is plunging into 
apostasy of his own impulse and desire. Here is the 
difference between this and that kind represented by 
the temptation in the wilderness. That was objec- 
tive, this subjective. That was temptation to out- 
ward acts ; this to an inward state, or act. Bunyan, 
in " Grace Abounding, " discloses his own temptation 
to such an inward act of renunciation of Christ and 
the dark years which followed. 

We can judge Jesus by ourselves for he was 
tempted in all points as we are, and all these are 
points of temptation to believers. So it is no dis- 
paragement of the divine nature of Jesus to believe 
that Satan pressed all of these upon his mind with 
superhuman power and subtlety. Not a dark or 
blasphemous doubt was left unsuggested. But the 
depths of these experiences are in proportion to the 
nature in which they occur. Into a nature of infinite 
depth we can look, although we cannot fathom it. 
No mind can conceive of this trial of Jesus at the 
very verge of his great mediatorial work. Satan's 
purpose was to unfit him for it or prevent it in any 
way. This was the struggle of Gethsemane. The 
danger of some interference with, or unfitness for, his 
great work as Redeemer, was the awful agony of Jesus 
in the darkness of that fearful conflict. 

His recourse is to prayer. But prayer does not 
always at first give relief. Satan may ' ' tremble 
when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees," but 
there is no evidence of it in Scripture, and he shows 
none in his conduct. On the other hand, he presses 
closest to the struggling, seeking one, to prevent his 
1 1 Kings xix. 4. 



176 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

access and to break his faith and to darken his view 
and to drive him from the place or exercise. Such 
times are battles. At such times "our wrestling is 
not against flesh and blood, but against the princi- 
palities, against the powers, against the world rulers 
of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wicked- 
ness in the heavenly places." 1 Jesus wrestled and 
struggled against the enshrouding darkness out of 
which there came not one ray of spiritual light. He 
comes out from the shadows of the place of prayer 
to the three chosen disciples to get from them some 
human sympathy, and to be in their presence relieved 
for a few moments from the awful strain of the 
satanic conflict. He finds them asleep. From the 
beginning to the end, no human help was given him. 
It could not be otherwise. Jesus was to drink the 
cup and suffer and die alone. No human voice can 
ever be raised to say, ■ ' I helped the Son of God in 
the day of his atonement." 

Jesus returned alone to meet the second assault of 
Satan. The nature of this may be read in this passage : 
"My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death." 2 
This is a soul state as distinguished from spiritual 
conflict. It is not confined to the believer or to 
spiritual beings. Our age has much of it. It affects 
its victim in forms of mental depression or prostration. 
One is conscious of its presence, yet powerless to 
resist. The mind is filled with strange thoughts which 
sweep through in a whirlwind of fury, and leave one 
prostrated in weakness afterward. Mental collapse 
often follows, and the person is left unaccountable as 
to his actions. In such attacks self-destruction is 
often suggested, and this is the inward history of 
many a suicide. Indeed, if the person is conscious of 
his state, either insanity or suicide appears to be 
the certain consequence of his distressing condition. 
There are other forms of peculiar oppression which 
1 Eph. vi. 13, *Ma.tt. xxvi. 38. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. IJJ 

are now coming to be understood, by which one mind 
comes to control another, and works awful conse- 
quences to the victim. All this is possible to Satan, 
indeed comes from him. He has used it many times. 
With how much of all this or other kinds of oppression 
he now assaults Jesus, we cannot know. Only this 
we are sure of : he was ' ' tempted in all points as we 
are, " and here is one of the most distressing forms of 
human affliction. To incapacitate Jesus from making 
a voluntary sacrifice of himself or to destroy its value 
as the act of one not in full possession of self-control, 
would accomplish Satan's object to prevent or mar 
the work of the cross. 

Jesus was in a state favorable to the inroads of 
such an attack. There are in the records evidences 
of delicacy of temperament and nervous organization. 
He was at the close of a long and exhausting work 
which had taxed nerves and brain and mind. The 
exciting events of the past few days and the long 
hours with his disciples left him needing rest and 
quiet. The approach of his crucifixion, with all the 
attending trying events, still further wrought upon 
him. It was Satan's hour to assault Jesus. He bears 
down upon Jesus in his weakness with all the myste- 
rious yet real power of mind over mind. Nerves and 
brain feel the awful pressure. That great and power- 
ful and inexpressively malignant being presses with 
all his mighty power upon that sinking nature. 

We can well believe all hell is present to assist in 
that which will give them such a prize. To so control 
Jesus even for a time, and have it recorded that the 
work of Calvary was that of one not in his senses, was 
a plan of surpassing subtlety. Jesus feels the awful 
pressure. It was the human nature which was the sub- 
ject of the second temptation. Reason seems totter- 
ing. He feels as if in the mad whirl of insanity. Such 
a state cannot last long. Utter wreck seems the cer- 
tain consequence of the fearful strain. In the dark- 



178 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

ness of the hour it might have seemed as if it was 
God's will to let him fall a victim. It was an awful 
thought. He cries out in his agony against it, begging 
to be spared such an awful blow. Yet under all is 
seen the immovable submission which is inwoven into 
his very nature and cannot change even in that awful 
vortex of mental agony. He rises to seek again the 
group he brought to help him on this night of his dire 
distress. They are stupid with sleep and scarcely 
wake to hear what he says to them. So he leaves 
them, to return to the final conflict. 

This seems to have been an attack upon Jesus' 
physical frame. The final deliverance and the final 
attack is thus recorded : ' ' Who in the days of his 
flesh, having offered up prayers and supplications 
with strong crying and tears unto him that was able 
to save him from death, and having been heard for 
his godly fear, though he was a Son, yet learned 
obedience by the things which he suffered." 1 Satan, 
unable to sway Jesus from his purpose or to incapac- 
itate him for it, now seeks to forestall the crucifixion 
by forcing him to a premature death in the garden. 
It would not be a moral victory, as in the second 
temptation, or a spiritual victory as in the first ; but 
it would prevent the great atonement. Such was 
Satan's thought and purpose. Nor was it wholly im- 
possible from his standpoint. He has the power of 
death. Jesus was physically exhausted. His work 
had taxed all his not very great strength. Every 
miracle was a draught upon his energies. "There 
went virtue out of him," we read of one healing ; but 
it was always so. In a sense more real than we 
know. "Himself took our infirmities and bare our 
diseases." 2 

The frequent wearinesses mentioned in the Gospels 
tell of wasting strength and receding powers. It is 
believed by competent medical authorities who have 
Hcb. v. 7. 8 Matt. viii. 17. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 79 

made a study of the state of Jesus before and in his 
death, that he was during all his ministry suffering 
from a fatal and painful disease. The bloody sweat, 
the water flowing from the heart with blood, all point 
to abnormal conditions and to some vital derange- 
ment. In all this we see the opportunity of Satan. 
This, then, was his last fierce onslaught on Jesus. 
He attacks every vital organ of Jesus' body. The 
blood seemed to desert its accustomed channels, to 
return again with such unnatural force to the frail 
tissues which held it as to ooze in drops from the 
pores of the skin. The breath seemed to stop and 
leave him scarcely able to recover it. The damps 
of death were upon him. Jesus seemed dying, and 
dying without the cross. It was an awful thought to 
him. It was the failure of all for which he had 
come. To reach the cross was the great desire of 
Jesus. For this he came, for this he was sent, for 
this a body was given him, for this he had prepared ; 
of this he had prophesied. On this depended all the 
past, while countless types awaited this fulfilment. 
The innumerable private and public sacrifices all were 
useless without this redemption. These temptations 
were doubtless cumulative. The first and second 
were still upon him when the third and last falls with 
crushing force upon the sinking Jesus. Spirit, soul, 
and body are in the throes of the awful conflict. 
Humanly speaking, there can be no escape or re- 
covery. He prayed in an agony of desire. It could 
not be possible God would permit this awful thing to 
happen. He cries, "Let this cup pass from me." 
Yet if it is the will of God so to humiliate him ; if in 
God's infinite wisdom this can be and must be, 
"Nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt." 

The victory was won, but Jesus was left utterly 
exhausted. He had not strength enough to finish his 
work. We can see him lying prostrate for very 
weakness. He is thus helped: "There appeared 



180 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

unto him an angel from heaven strengthening him." 1 
Enough strength is imparted to him to enable him to 
undergo the arrest and trial and scourging and smit- 
ing and to reach the cross and to finish his work. 
He returns to the disciples, and together they step 
forward into the open to meet his approaching 
fate. 

The sting in the soul of Jesus in his last hour was 
that his death was to be brought about by the hand 
of one of his own. This also finds a place in the 
prediction, ' ' Mine own familiar friend, in whom I 
trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his 
heel against me." 2 This Jesus quotes at the table. 
Soon after he hands the sop to Judas who thus literally 
eats of Jesus' bread. Judas appears to have been on 
terms of special intimacy with Jesus. "Mine own 
familiar friend" is a term expressing something more 
than discipleship. He seems to have sat next to 
Jesus at the table and to have enjoyed his confidence. 
Judas was not allowed to enter the course of treason 
unrebuked. Seven distinct warnings can be seen 
given by Jesus as to his approaching death, each suc- 
cessive announcement more definite than the pre- 
ceding. Judas hears all, and must have known 
whom he meant when he said, "One of you shall 
betray me. " When all were asking, ' ' Lord is it I ? " 
Judas also secretly, for the disciples did not know of 
the reason of his going out, asks, "Is it I, Rabbi?" 
and Jesus responds also secretly, "Thou hast said." 
He hears and goes out on his awful errand, although 
the words of Jesus must have rung in his ears, ' ' Woe 
unto that man through whom the Son of man is be- 
trayed. Good were it for that man if he had not 
been born." 8 

It is difficult to understand the conduct of Judas. 
How one so near to Jesus and on such terms of spe- 
cial intimacy and so repeatedly and plainly warned, 

1 Luke xxli. 43. 2 Ps. xli. 9. ' Matt. xxvi. 24, 25. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 181 

could have deliberately sold his Lord is scarcely ca- 
pable of explanation. It is true ' ' Satan entered 
into him; " but there was, as is the case in all who 
fall, a preparation. In Judas this was of long devel- 
opment. We read, ' ' He was a thief and carried the 
bag. " There appears to have been a special purpose 
in Judas' mind for the sum he received for the be- 
trayal of Jesus. The end of his guilty act and life 
reveals the secret. ' ' Now this man obtained a field 
with the reward of his iniquity ; and falling headlong, 
he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels 
gushed out. And it became known to all the dwellers 
of Jerusalem ; insomuch that in their language that 
field was called Akeldama, that is, The field of blood. 
For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habi- 
tation be made desolate, and let no man dwell 
therein. 1 " 

The fact of his buying this place, its character, 
and his purpose in it are all declared here. It was a 
sightly place overlooking from its precipitous location 
the surrounding country, perhaps the city of Jerusa- 
lem, close to which it was situated. He intended it 
for a habitation as indicated in the psalm, "Let his 
habitation be made desolate." He had bought it 
either by bargaining for it or by having paid part for 
it. The thirty pieces of silver were required to finish 
paying for it, and were so applied after his death. 
He had set his heart on this place. He has it in full 
possession except for thirty pieces of silver. His 
stealings have gone into it. His conscience is blunted 
to right and wrong. At this juncture he is approached 
by Satan. It is intimated to him he can make money 
by assisting to secure Jesus. He perhaps is told he 
might as well make it as any one else. If he does 
not some one else will. Perhaps he reasons, Jesus is 
able to save himself, and will doubtless do so. Jesus' 
popularity has waned. He is a suspected man ; some 
1 Acts i. 18-20. 



1 82 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

say, beside himself. It is easy to disbelieve in an un- 
popular religion or person. Judas has lost faith in 
Jesus. He knows his integrity but everybody doubts 
his claims. All these reasonings pass through his 
mind as he deliberates this thing of sin. To deliber- 
ate here is to be lost. He seeks the enemies of Jesus 
and sells his Lord and Master. 

The traitor goes out to his self-chosen task. He 
knew the place, for Jesus often resorted thither 
with his disciples. A band of men is given to him. 
He places himself at their head. He guides them 
accurately to the garden. Many a time he had ac- 
companied Jesus thither. Jesus advances to meet 
him. Judas salutes him with the kiss of friendship. 
Jesus replies, "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man 
with a kiss ? " It was the manner of the betrayal 
which hurt the heart of Jesus. They had often ex- 
changed this customary salutation of love. It was 
the fatal act for Judas. All else was but preparatory 
to this and might have been repented of. Jesus was 
betrayed and Judas damned by that kiss. Jesus 
chides the people who have no grievance against him 
for their coming with spears and staves as if he were 
a thief, reminding them they could have taken him 
any time in the temple. He rebukes the hasty act 
of Peter in drawing his sword and smiting the servant, 
and heals the wound. Then they lead him away. 
Judas is confounded at seeing Jesus thus taken and 
bound. He must have expected Jesus to save him- 
self as before. He is conscience-stricken. He rushes 
to these who paid the money to him, flings it down 
with expressions of intense remorse, rushes out to his 
coveted possession, fastens a rope around his neck, 
casts himself over the precipice, the rope breaks and 
he is crushed by the fall. The place is counted ac- 
cursed thenceforth, and is used for the burial of 
strangers. 1 

1 Matt, xxvii. 3-10 ; Acts i. 1S-20. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 83 



The story of the sufferings and death of Jesus have 
caught the attention and touched the heart of the 
world. No one can read the narrative and not be at 
least silent from respect. He was led or rather dragged 
about from place to place as silent and submissive 
and as helpless, so far as physical strength or resist- 
ance was concerned, as the lamb to which he is 
compared. While waiting for the morning and the 
meeting of the council, he stands bound and silent. 
It is there occurs the incident in which Peter figures 
so disgracefully. He is near enough to Jesus for 
recognition. What a comfort he could have been 
and what immortality of glory he would have won 
by even a word of comfort addressed to Jesus, or 
even by faithful acknowledgment and silent sympathy ! 
But even this is denied Jesus. He must bear it all 
alone. At length the day comes, and the trial and 
all its tortures of body and mind. His strength was 
exhausted by his night of struggle and watching. His 
pale face was stained with the bloody sweat. He 
stood helpless before his captors who were hungry for 
his blood. To all the jeering he answers not a word. 
Jesus was brought successively before Annas, 
Caiaphas, Pilate, the sanhedrim, Pilate, Herod, Pilate 
again, and at last is presented to the people. In 
each every right and precedent were violated. Jesus 
was found guilty on two charges, and for these he 
was condemned to death. These were that he claimed 
to be the Son of God and the King of Israel. For 
the first he was condemned by the Jewish council, 
and the last was the official and legal accusation hung 
on the cross by the Roman governor Pilate. Christ 
admitted both charges. He was condemned and 
treated accordingly. He was kept bound, was smit- 
ten on the face, the hair plucked from his cheeks : 
he was arrayed in scarlet, and a crown of thorns 



1 84 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

placed upon his head. He was hooted and derided 
by the soldiery, and the angry crowd cried fiercely, 
" Crucify him," and asked the release of a murderer 
in his place. 

All this being over and the necessary authority 
given by Pilate, he is led away to execution. It was 
no uncommon scene in Jerusalem. The usual crowd 
gathered, but there was an unusual fierceness in their 
yelling. There were some present who were of im- 
portance and not usually at such scenes. They were 
the foes of Jesus going to make sure he was crucified, 
and to gloat over his disgrace and sufferings. The 
procession files down the street and out of the gate. 
We may picture the scene. It was led probably by 
two of the soldiers, then one of the malefactors bear- 
ing his cross, Jesus bearing his cross, then the second 
malefactor, and then the other two soldiers. A shout 
tells the forward soldiers something has happened. 
They halt and look back. Jesus has fallen. The heavy 
cross has overtaxed his failing strength, and he lies pros- 
trate on the ground. With a curse at the prisoner, one 
of them pulls the cross away, and then roughly drags 
him to his feet. He stands unsteady a moment. The 
cross is laid upon a stranger who happens to pass, and 
the procession moves forward again. A woman's voice 
is heard weeping, and bewailing Jesus. He addresses 
her a word of comfort. The place is reached. It is the 
common scene of such executions. The cross is laid 
upon the ground. Jesus stretched upon it. He 
speaks. "Father forgive them, they know not what 
they do " is his prayer. Nails are driven through 
each hand and foot. Then it is lifted, bearing up his 
body. The end is placed in a hole, one soldier 
guides it to its place, and the others steady it. They 
press the earth firm about it. The inscription is 
placed over his head, "This is Jesus of Nazareth the 
King of the Jews." The thieves are also crucified. 
The soldiers wipe the perspiration from their faces, 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 85 

and sit down to rest. The victim's clothes are their 
perquisites, and these they now divide among them- 
selves. One of the garments is a woven one. It can- 
not be divided, so they cast lots for it. There is now 
nothing more to do, so they sit and watch. 

In the crowd there are many who know of his 
power. They had seen him raise the dead. Why 
should he not deliver himself now, they ask. There 
is some expectancy that he will do so ; but after some 
time passes and he does not, all conclude that he is 
not able to do so. They now begin to jeer and call 
upon him to come down from the cross. The male- 
factors, who at first called upon him to deliver himself 
and them, finding he does not do so, turn and rail at 
him. One, however, afterward repents and rebukes 
the other, and turning to Jesus says, ' ' Lord remem- 
ber me when thou comest in thy kingdom." To him 
Jesus replies, "To-day shalt thou be with me in 
paradise." He was the first of the blood-washed 
throng. The last act of Jesus — " the ruling passion 
strong in death " — was the saving of this poor sinner. 
He commends his mother to John who takes her im- 
mediately away to his home, thus sparing her the 
agonizing spectacle further. There is a small proph- 
ecy yet unfulfilled. It was written in the Messianic 
psalm, 1 " In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." 
So Jesus cried, " I thirst." A sponge dipped in 
vinegar is lifted to his lips : of this he tastes. All is 
complete. He calls aloud, " It is finished. " 

It is high noon. A great darkness gathers over 
the sky. The people are terrified, and most leave the 
place. No human eye rests upon the dying Christ. 
Then comes to him an agony he did not expect. 
The agony of Gethsemane was awful, but this far ex- 
ceeds it. There entered into this something Jesus 
had never suffered before. What it was is seen in his 
cry, ' ' My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 
me ?" Heretofore Jesus had the constant presence of 

1 rsalms Ixix. 21. 



1 86 CHRIST -IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

the Father. In the eternal past, in creation, in the 
life on earth, in all the conflicts, even in Gethsemane, 
God was with him. Now God leaves him to die 
alone. It was necessary. It was the portion of the 
sinner's cup which Christ was draining to the dregs. 
This was the agony of the cross. To be separated 
from the Father, to cease to feel his presence, to 
realize that his face was averted, was the bitterness 
of Christ's death. It was the last stroke. It came at 
the ninth hour. He repeats the words of the psalm, 
" Into thy hands I commit my spirit," and breathes 
out his life, his last and highest act of perfect submis- 
sion to God and faith in him. As Jesus died, the 
earth shook, the rocks were rent, and many of the 
dead rose ; the vail of the Temple was rent in twain, 
and the darkness rolled away. At sundown the 
soldiers put the crucified thieves to death. They 
pierced the side of Jesus, and there flowed out blood 
and water. The earth received the contents of his 
heart and arteries and veins. The blood of Jesus was 
shed literally on earth, and its soil received it. 

Next in sacredness to the custody of the infant 
Jesus was the care of his lifeless body. To another 
Joseph it was committed. The two Josephs represent 
the extremes of society ; the one a carpenter, the 
other a councilor and a man of wealth. He used his 
influence as such to obtain the body of Jesus. An- 
other councilor, Nicodemus, helped him. It was a 
hasty burial owing to the approach of the Sabbath. 
In Joseph's family tomb, not as yet occupied, Jesus 
was laid. The Jews secured a guard and sealed the 
sepulcher. All was over. Jesus was dead and buried. 
Man and Satan had done their worst. 

Reading such a story for the first time, one would 
conclude upon his guilt without further evidence. 
We would say that one so universally condemned by 
friend and foe and by all the constituted authorities, 
must be very wicked. We in this day of familiarity 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 87 

with the gospel story have lost our feelings of horror 
at the knowledge that this was not only an innocent 
man, as proved by all these trials, but that this was the 
holiest man who ever lived on earth ; that he spent 
his whole life doing good, and saved thousands from 
disease, and comforted thousands more ; that he only 
desired to be permitted to continue all this indefi- 
nitely and extend it to all the earth. Besides all 
that he was the legal King of Israel, and entitled to 
the humble allegiance of every one of those who so 
derided him. He was their Messiah for whom they 
had long looked and on whom their deliverance as a 
nation depended. More still, he was the Son of 
God. All this he substantiated by proofs of every 
kind — Scripture, miracles, and witnesses. 

This was an awful crime — the wickedest act ever 
done on this or any other world. It must be asked, 
Who was responsible ? It was begun by one of Jesus' 
own followers, who went to the enemies of Jesus and 
offered to betray him. Jesus laid blame on all the 
apostolic band, — "One of yon shall betray me." 
They followed this by all forsaking him in his hour 
of need, and one with oaths denied him before his 
enemies. Not a soul of them ever lifted a voice in 
his defense. Jesus was condemned to death by Israel. 
It was their animosity which hunted him out and 
finally brought him to the cross. Israel can never 
escape the stigma of having crucified their Messiah. 
Last of all, Jesus was " crucified under Pontius Pilate." 
Pilate represented Rome, and Rome ruled the world. 
The whole world, then, is guilty of the death of 
Jesus. The church, Israel, and the world crucified 
Jesus. This is the view from man's standpoint. It 
must however be regarded from above and from Jesus' 
own personal action and purpose. 

Everywhere in Scripture God is represented as 
sending and giving Jesus, and he as coming in re- 
sponse to the will of God. He expressly declared his 



1 88 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

death to be voluntary. ' ' Therefore doth the Father 
love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take 
it again. No one taketh it away from me, but I lay 
it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and 
I have power to take it again. This commandment 
received I from my Father. "* Not all the agencies 
could have caused Jesus ' death without his own con- 
sent. The sufferings and death of Jesus affected him- 
self also. ' • Though he were a Son yet learned he 
obedience by the things which he suffered" "It 
became him, for whom are all things, and by whom 
are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory to 
make the captain of their salvation perfect through 
sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who 
are sanctified are all of one." 2 The course traveled 
by Jesus and every believing soul is the same. Jesus 
therefore for his own sake endured the cross. All the 
discipline any soul endures of suffering necessary to 
bring it into the condition fit for fellowship with God, 
Jesus also passed through. 

The state and place of the Spirit of Jesus during 
the time between his death and resurrection is inti- 
mated by his promise to the believing malefactor, 
"To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise. " 3 Para- 
dise is the place where the believer is after death. 
There the dying beggar went. Here, then, was Jesus 
awaiting his resurrection as all his people are still in 
this happy place. He thus follows our path in this 
also. It is said of the saints in paradise that "they 
rest from their labors and their works do follow 
them." Rest surely Jesus needed after the fearful 
struggle. He was not yet in his eternal state. If 
the spirits of the saints need and can experience rest, 
so could he who was walking their path and enter- 
ing into all their needs and changes and experiences. 
Jesus no doubt also entered into the enjoyment of 
the sweet fellowship of the saints pictured by the at- 

'John x. 17, 18. 2 Heb. v. 8 ; ii. 10, II. s Luke xxiii. 43. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 89 

titude of the beggar reclining by the side of Abraham 
and enjoying whatever is represented by the table 
which is necessary to the figure used there. Jesus 
also no doubt told the saints of the accomplishment of 
the work of the cross and the approaching comple- 
tion of it in his resurrection. Paradise is not, how- 
ever, the highest place of the believer. It is simply 
where the saints are gathering and awaiting the 
completed church, when in one company, all will 
enter into the highest and fullest glory. So this was 
not the exaltation of Jesus. That could not occur 
until he rose from the dead, and ascended to the 
Father. 

Both human enemies and friends were asleep ; 
neither expecting his resurrection. It was an event 
in which the inhabitants of the unseen worlds were 
the only active and interested spectators. In heaven 
the resurrection of Jesus was eagerly looked for, not 
as a doubtful thing or as a critical event, for in their 
minds knowing him as they did and having him in 
spirit with them, they knew he was as sure to become 
reunited to that earthly body as that he was the Son 
of God. But it was longed for by them. It was the 
victory over death they wanted to see. It was the in 
duction of their Lord in his eternal state in which he 
was to become possessed of an immortal human body 
which he was to wear forever, and in which he was to 
rule in glory over them and all. Although neither the 
church nor the world understood or realized it, that 
first Lord's Day was the day of crisis in the affairs of 
eternity and of intensest interest to both heaven and 
hell. The one side full of faith and the other full of 
apprehension, — all were watching the outcome of that 
day. We do not know what Satan did to endeavor 
to prevent the resurrection of Jesus. He who conten- 
ded with the archangel for the body of Moses we may 
be sure struggled with all the energy of his mighty 
power to prevent the resurrection of Jesus. The ris- 



190 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

ing of Jesus threatened his supreme authority over 
man by death. Hitherto all had fallen before him. 

We may look in reverent imagination upon the 
scene within the sepulcher. It is a low-roofed place, 
in which it is scarcely possible to stand erect. There 
lies the form we saw hanging on the cross. Loving 
hands have wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and 
fragrant spices. Limbs and head are carefully ad- 
justed. No human body could be more truly dead 
than that one. Jesus died a broken-down man, and, 
as we have seen, was probably a sufferer from a fatal 
disease. By his crucifixion every vital organ must 
have been wrenched out of all hope of restoration. 
His heart was pierced by the soldier's spear, which 
probably emptied the entire blood from the body. 
He had lain since the third day in this state. The 
tomb is closed by a stone which required the strength 
of several men to move. It was sealed, and a guard 
of soldiers watched before it. No one of his own 
power had ever come out from the dead, and there 
was no prophet to work such a miracle. To human 
eyes all was hopeless. Except his own word and the 
predictions of Scripture, there was not a single ray 
of hope that Jesus would rise. 

The preliminary and preparatory events of the res- 
urrection of Jesus are thus described : " And behold, 
there was a great earthquake ; for an angel of the 
Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled 
away the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance 
was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow : and 
for fear of him the watchers did quake, and became 
as dead men." 1 But all this is not the event itself. 
We may with reverent minds try to picture it. The 
Holy Spirit had never left that precious form. He is 
the giver of life. Now he simply exercises his office 
work. Therefore life flows through that lifeless body. 
Lungs and brain and nerves and muscles all respond 
as naturally as in one in full health. The cause only 

a Matt. xxviii. 2-4. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. I9I 

of that life and movement is different. Blood is the 
means of the life of the human body, but not so in 
this, for it is absent from Jesus' veins. A change, 
too, takes place in the body itself. It is the resur- 
rection change. It becomes superior to natural laws ; 
yet it was a real body. Jesus was afterward handled 
and felt, did eat and drink, was heard and spoken to, 
and recognized. It was true corporeal life but sus- 
tained by the immediate power of the Holy Spirit. 
All the functions of the body were in full state of 
perfection. It was the same yet not the same. The 
change is thus described : "It is sown in corruption ; 
it is raised in incorruption : it is sown in dishonor ; 
it is raised in glory : it is sown in weakness ; it is 
raised in power : it is sown a natural body ; it is 
raised a spiritual body." 1 

It is clothed also in garments of immortality. The 
garb Jesus wore was neither his former raiment nor 
the grave-clothes. There should be no difficulty in 
accounting for his being supplied with clothing. The 
angels who ministered in Gethsemane could do so 
now in this also. Christ entered again the tabernacle 
he occupied so long and is now to inhabit forever. 
He opened his eyes as calmly as if from a refreshing 
sleep, sat up and unwrapped the burial clothes, folded 
them up neatly and laid them aside, the napkin which 
was about his face in a place by itself. He rose and 
stepped out of the open door. 

There was no human being to greet the risen 
Saviour. Had they had faith, all the apostles cer- 
tainly would have been there to meet him. Jesus 
waited about the sepulcher and saw the women come 
and go away again in haste and excitement at rinding 
the sepulcher open and empty. He also saw Peter 
and John come and look in and go away again. He 
kept himself unseen and was silent. He was 
evidently looking or waiting for something. He was 
looking for what he constantly longed for in life and 

1 I Cor. xv. 43, 44. 



192 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

always — faith in himself and in his word. Nothing 
so delighted him on earth as to find faith in any one, 
and nothing so grieved him as unbelief. Now he 
longs to find among them some who have faith to be- 
lieve in his resurrection, and to show their faith by 
coming to the sepulcher to meet him. But he finds 
none. The women come to finish the embalming, and 
not to see a risen Jesus. Peter and John come to 
the sepulcher, but only to see the thing reported by 
the women. All come and go but one, and she re- 
mains, not to see a living Saviour, but to find if pos- 
sible where they have taken the body. It seems 
strange that with the empty sepulcher before them 
and the linen clothes and the napkin folded in proper 
shape and place, all showing J esus' careful ways and 
not the work of robbers or of foes, and the repeated 
predictions of Jesus himself in mind, and the appear- 
ance of the angels and their message, "He is not 
here : for he is risen, even as he said. Come see the 
place where the Lord lay," 1 — it is strange that with 
all this they did not believe he was risen. Jesus found 
affection for himself personally, but not faith in his 
word. They were yet lacking in the work of the 
Spirit, without which faith and every other grace and 
gift are impossible. Their need was set before them 
as ours is set before us for our self-examination, by 
this scene about the empty sepulcher. Having shown 
them their total absence of faith, he now proceeds to 
the revelation of himself. 

The first human being to see the risen Christ and 
to become the bearer of the good news to the church 
was Mary Magdalene. Why was she selected for so 
great an honor, as great almost as that of the other 
Mary who gave him birth, to whom, in her history, 
she was such a contrast ? She had been a great sin- 
ner and had had much forgiven and loved Jesus cor- 
respondingly. Mary Magdalene had little faith but 
1 Matt, xxviii. 6. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 93 

great love, and this covers a multitude of shortcom- 
ings. For the same reason Peter was honored above 
the other apostles. Jesus will overlook anything 
where there is true love for himself. An act of Mary 
shows her great love and little understanding. She 
lays hold on him, probably falling at his feet and 
clasping them, as the other women did, as if she 
feared he would immediately ascend and leave her. 
To her Jesus says, ' ' Take not hold upon me ; for I 
am not yet ascended to the Father." 1 As much as 
to say, You need not hold me ; I am not leaving you 
immediately. He gives her a message to the disciples 
whom he now for the first time calls " my brethren." 
Having been now made perfect by suffering he is not 
ashamed to call them so. He follows his message by 
a personal appearance to two of the disciples, and by 
these successive means prepares the apostles gradually 
for the startling event of his appearance. 

There is no record of the doings or state of the 
apostles during the time Jesus lay in the sepulcher. 
Jesus had said, ' ' Ye shall be scattered every man to 
his own, and shall leave me alone." 2 The record 
tells us that at his arrest the disciples left him and 
fled. Peter followed into the palace afterward only 
to deny him thrice. John also was in the assembly 
but silent. They no doubt engaged with all others in 
the duties and services of the passover feast. Their 
state may be seen reflected in the account of the two 
Jesus met on the way to. Emmaus. They said, "We 
hoped that it was he which should redeem Israel." 
The whole company of disciples no doubt shared these 
feelings. All were sad, disappointed, and hopeless. 
No doubt there was, too, the usual feelings we all 
have at the loss of dear ones, and especially the 
very common feelings of self-reproach at real or 
fancied neglect or wrongs done to the dear de- 
parted. They all had occasion for such thoughts 

1 John xx. 17, margin. 2 John xvi : 32. 

*3 



194 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

and especially Peter. There was apprehension 
also. They were the followers of a condemned 
and executed leader. They share his odium and guilt. 
They may perhaps meet the same fate. They meet 
the third day, the doors locked for fear of the Jews. 
There has come startling intelligence of the open and 
empty sepulcher and that angels had been seen and 
that they had said that Jesus was alive. Some of the 
apostles ran to the sepulcher and found it empty. 
Finally, Mary Magdalene appears and tells them she 
has seen the Lord, and then later Peter comes and 
announces that he also has seen Jesus ; and just at 
evening the two disciples come, breathless, to tell of 
their seeing Jesus, of their talk, and his breaking 
bread with them, and recognizing him as he did so. 

We can imagine their condition. Intense ex- 
citement and expectancy must have filled every mind. 
They were nervous and strained to the keenest atten- 
tion to every passing sound and step. They were 
questioning each other and asking and giving opinions. 
In the midst of this excited company the object of all 
their thoughts suddenly appeared. Perhaps he was 
there all the time and listening, as at the sepulcher, 
and for the same purpose. Surely now they will be- 
lieve. They had every reason to cast away every 
doubt, but it is clear that they did not yet believe. 
Unbelief is a stubborn thing. Nothing but the power 
of the Holy Spirit will drive it out. 

The first words of Jesus were, "Peace be unto 
you." It was a common salutation but fraught also 
with meaning to them in their condition. They 
needed peace just then. A nervous and excited state 
is not favorable to the work of grace. Its effects are 
transient and unreliable, and liable to suspicion by 
the subject and by others. But there was a deeper 
meaning, as he showed by repeating the salutation, 
and the significant act with which he accompanied 
the words and their changed feelings, ' ' And when he 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 95 

had said this, he showed unto them his hands and his 
side. The disciples therefore were glad when they 
saw the Lord." 1 Here was an answer to all their 
self-reproaches. Doubtless they would have cast 
themselves at his feet in humiliating confessions of 
cowardice and unfaithfulness and unbelief. But with 
greathearted graciousness he gently stops them with 
these words of full forgiveness and blessing. 

But there was a deeper and broader meaning yet 
in these simple words of Jesus and the act with which 
they were accompanied and the succeeding words and 
acts, which were as follows ; « ' Peace be unto you : 
as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, 
and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost : 
Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto 
them ; whose soever sins ye retain, they are re- 
tained." 2 The raised hands were the proclamation 
of the gospel of the crucified and risen Saviour. The 
repeated salutation of "Peace be unto you," gives 
the verbal message. There is the proclamation of 
the three forms of peace, — peace from God, peace 
with God, and the peace of God. The latter covered 
peace for the past with all its sins and mistakes ; 
peace for the present, with all its anxieties and bur- 
dens ; and peace for the future, with all its hopes 
and fears down to the end and into eternity. 

The authority Jesus conferred on the apostles is 
seen in these words, ' ' As the Father hath sent me, 
even so send I you ;" "Whose soever sins ye for- 
give, they are forgiven unto them ; whose soever sins 
ye retain, they are retained." These words were 
spoken to the apostles alone, and this authority for 
them alone. This was the great commission given 
the apostles, in which they after spoke and wrote and 
acted in Christ's stead. He accompanied these words 
with this significant act and word — "He breathed 

1 John xx. 20. "John xx. 21-23. 



196 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

on them and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy 
Ghost." 

The apostles only were present, and it was an ex- 
clusive commission which was given them. We do 
not read of this being repeated or given any others. 
The time was forty days before the public and gen- 
eral giving of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost. The act 
was intensely personal on the part of Jesus and the 
apostles also. It was therefore a transferrence by 
Jesus of his life and work to the apostles. 

The act and words are mutually explanatory. 
All that breath is to the body, the Holy Spirit is to 
the believer. It is life. Jesus said, "I came that 
they may have life, and may have it abundantly." 1 
Now he fulfils this. He imparts to them his own life 
by the Spirit as there was imputed to them life by his 
death and resurrection. Breath means speech. They 
were to be witnesses for him. In this simple act we 
have the very thing called "inspiration." In this, 
then, Christ shows us not only that his apostles were to 
be inspired, but how. He himself breathed into them. 
He authorized them to speak and write as he himself. 
So here we have the word and act of Christ to show 
that the writings of his apostles are of equal inspira- 
tion with his own. All was received by simple faith. 
They saw nothing and felt nothing. They were to 
receive and to believe that he then gave the Holy 
Spirit to them, all on his word. The effects of this 
interview and experience are seen in the apostles in 
the absence of the disturbed feelings, in their joy at 
his ascension, in filling the vacant apostleship, and 
patient, faithful waiting and holding of the others 
about them in prayer until the outpouring of Pente- 
cost. 

While this was for the apostle, there is a lesson of 
the work of Christ in giving the Holy Spirit here for 
all. The believer has the same spirit as Jesus had on 
1 John x. 10. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 97 

earth. All that he had and did we may in a meas- 
ure also enjoy and do. We have his life imparted as 
well as imputed. We are to receive all by faith. 
' ' Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or 
by the hearing of faith ? . . . He therefore that sup- 
plieth to you the Spirit and worketh miracles among 
you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the 
hearing of faith ? . . . That we might receive the 
promise of the Spirit through faith." 1 There is no 
need of waiting for signs or feelings. We may take 
Christ at his word and accept the Holy Spirit as fully 
and as freely as we do Christ himself, and go our 
way believing we have received. 2 The sight of the 
crucified and risen Christ and his many promises all 
furnish the same warrant for accepting the Holy Spirit 
as for accepting the salvation of which Jesus is the 
Finisher as well as the Author. 

The forty days between the death and ascension 
of Jesus were a time of great activity with him. We 
are not to suppose that the ten appearings to his dis- 
ciples were all such appearings during that time any 
more than the few miracles recorded were all he 
wrought in his life. The list given by Paul of the 
appearings of Christ is not inclusive. It does not 
enumerate half of the gospel list. It omits that to the 
women and the two going to Emmaus. The state- 
ment is made by Peter that he appeared "not to all 
the people, but unto witnesses that were chosen be- 
fore of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with 
him after he rose from the dead." 3 The meaning of 
this is that he did not appear to the public but only 
to his own, that they might be witnesses of his actual 
resurrection. There were reasons for his not appear- 
ing to the world. The last seen of Jesus by the world 
was on the cross, which is their only sight until he 
comes in judgment. 

■Gal. iii. 3, 5, 14. 'Mark xi. 24. s Actsx. 41. 



I98 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

After the account of his call to Thomas to put his 
finger in the print of the nails and his hand into his 
side, John writes, ' ' Many other signs therefore did 
Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not 
written in this book ; but these are written that ye 
may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of 
God, and that believing ye may have life through his 
name." 1 The reasons for believing that this state- 
ment refers to the events of the forty days and not to 
the entire life of Jesus are as follows : John makes a 
further general statement covering the life of Jesus at 
the close of the book, and it does not seem probable 
he would make two such statements. The first is 
the less in force and scope of the two, and evidently 
refers to a lesser time and sphere. Again, John often 
in his gospel interjects such local remarks in his nar- 
rative referring to the immediate subject in hand. 
Further the expression, "Other signs," refers to the 
one just preceding, of asking Thomas to put his finger 
in the print of the nails and thrust his hand into his 
side. Jesus did not give such signs during his life, 
though often asked for them by the Jews. Again, 
these signs were done "in the presence of the dis- 
ciples" and evidently for their special benefit, all of 
which was true of his resurrection acts and not true 
of his former miracles. But the purpose of the signs 
shows clearly when they were wrought. ' ' These are 
written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, 
the Son of God, and that believing ye may have life 
through his name." As Alford states it, "The mere 
miracle faith so often reproved by our Lord, is not 
that intended here. This is faith in himself "as Christ 
the Son of God." 2 We must remember that we here 
stand on resurrection ground, and it is this great fact 
which is now being demonstrated. It is proof of, and 
faith in, the risen Christ which is the subject of these 
words of John. 

1 John xx. 31. 

» Alford's Greek Testament ; London, 1868, Vol. 4, p. 913. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 1 99 

We know by the character of the ten specimen 
appearances and deeds of the risen Jesus what the 
others were. We may believe that he appeared to 
his assembled apostles many times, perhaps every 
Lord's day. This was so called because it was the 
Lord's day for meeting with them. Seven such meet- 
ings could have taken place. He doubtless appeared 
to many as he did to the two on the way to Emmaus. 
Many such homes doubtless enjoyed his visits. Per- 
haps in distant places he appeared, and to humble 
persons whose narratives are not recorded, and to 
feeble and old persons who like Simeon and Anna 
were waiting for the consolation of Israel. 

We know he went to Galilee, and met his people 
there. It seems almost certain he would visit again 
the loved circle at Bethany, and that Martha would 
know a new meaning to his word, ' ' I am the resur- 
rection and the life ; " and that Lazarus whom he 
loved — that sad, silent character — would have an- 
other sight of him who was more than life to him. 
Joseph and Nicodemus saw the form they bore to the 
tomb living with a new life, and the latter saw what 
he further meant by being born again. Mary saw 
once more him who was more to her than son, and 
the sword wound in her heart was healed. Zaccheus 
may have welcomed the divine guest once more to 
his home and the woman at the well given him drink 
again. By the seashore, at their tables, by the way- 
side, in their assemblies, on the hillsides, at night 
and by day, by appointment and unexpectedly, Jesus 
came to his loved brethren. He fulfilled his promise, 
"I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to 
you." Their joy is full. Their Lord lives to die no 
more. 

What he did, too, we are told. He instructed 
those who did not know the meaning of his death. 
He comforted weeping ones like Mary. He convinced 
doubting ones like Thomas. He met and forgave 
faithless ones, as Peter, and met and helped some in 



200 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

their needs, as the seven fishermen who had caught 
nothing, but whom he directs to a bountiful haul of 
fish. In short, he ministered to body, to soul, and 
to spirit as he did before. He showed them he was 
to be an ever-present friend and helper in all their 
needs. They learned for themselves what they after- 
ward taught to us, ' ' Casting all your anxiety upon 
him, because he careth for you." By the lessons of 
the imminence of the Lord they learned the truth of 
his constant presence with each one of them wherever 
they might be or whatever their temporal or spiritual 
needs or states. There is this difference however be- 
tween the resurrection and earthly life of Jesus. In 
the latter he ministered to all. In his resurrection 
life he confined himself to his own people. 

The last appearing of Jesus was to his assembled 
church. It was great in significance, as was the first. 
The place of departure was chosen for many evident 
reasons. "He led them out until they were over 
against Bethany." 1 It was close to the little home 
so dear to him. It was on the road along which he 
had come riding in his formal approach to offer him- 
self to Israel as their Messiah. It was as near to Je- 
rusalem as could be and not be seen from the great 
city. It was on the Mount of Olives, and it was 
written, "His feet shall stand in that day upon the 
Mount of Olives," the point of departure being the 
place of arrival. It was the place from which he be- 
held the city and wept over it. Here he gathers the 
company about him. He had already announced to 
his apostles the resumption of his administrative 
work, saying, ' ' All authority hath been given unto 
me in heaven and on earth." He had further given 
them their command as to the work, saying, " Go ye 
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, bap- 
tizing them into the name of the Father and of the 
Son and of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe 

1 Luke xxiv. 50. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 201 

all things whatsoever I commanded you : and lo, I am 
with you alway even unto the end of the world." 1 
Now he gives them the parting promise, ' ' Ye shall 
receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon 
you : and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, 
and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost 
part of the earth." 2 "And behold, I send forth the 
promise of my Father upon you : but tarry ye in the 
city, until ye be clothed with power from on high." 8 
All has now been finished which he came to say 
and do. 

The ascension of Jesus is thus simply described by 
one of the witnesses : ' ' He lifted up his hands, and 
blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed 
them, he parted from them, and was carried up into 
heaven, "and a cloud received him out of their sight." 4 
He was hid from their sight, but they were not hid- 
den from his. He looks down upon the little com- 
pany at his feet. They are his flock. They heard 
his voice and followed him. He remembers none of 
their failures or faithlessness. They are inexpressibly 
dear to him. They were the germ of the church, the 
depositaries of his truth for all the world and all 
the age. He is leaving them as sheep among wolves. 
They are to face untold dangers for his sake, and to 
suffer joyfully and at last to die, some of them as he 
died, from love to him. But they are to be kept 
true and to finish their course in triumph and to meet 
him in glory. As he rises, a larger scene meets his 
view. Jerusalem was spread out before him. It has 
crucified him. But he had cried, "Father, forgive 
them," as his blood flowed out, and the prayer sealed 
with his heart's blood will be answered. It was the 
city of David, and he remembered his promise to 
David that his seed should sit on his throne. It was 
the site of his Father's House. Temple and city 

'Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. 8 Acts i. 8. 

8 Luke xxiv. 49. *Luke xxiv. 50, 51 ; Acts i. 9. 



202 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

must and will be redeemed. He rises still higher. 
The land of Israel is all before him. He had walked its 
roads and preached and healed from village to village. 
Under the open sky he as Jehovah promised Abra- 
ham that land in possession forever. He has sealed 
that covenant afresh with his blood. He remem- 
bers Israel's early love, their following him into and 
through the wilderness. He calls to mind all the 
long line of faithful men and women who had kept 
his truth. For a time they are to be hardened, but 
he knows they are to ' ' look upon him which they 
have pierced, " and to receive him as their Messiah. 

As he ascends, a still larger scene meets his eye. 
The world he made and has just redeemed rolls at 
his feet. Surely he paused to gaze upon it. Suc- 
cessively its cities swarming with people and all its 
lands with their many tribes of men pass in review 
before him. To save this world he came. It is his 
by creation and now by redemption. It was all in 
his mind as he hung upon the cross. He took all its 
load of sin upon himself and expiated all by one 
sacrifice. He had left his heart's life-blood in its 
soil. He thinks of the coming centuries of wars and 
famines and gospel proclamation. He knows that 
out of every nation and tongue and tribe and people 
shall they come to sit down with him in his kingdom ; 
and after some ages shall pass, the earth shall be full 
of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 

An event occurred in the history of Jesus after his 
death which is thus described : " Christ also suffered 
for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that 
he might bring us to God ; being put to death in the 
flesh, but quickened in the spirit ; in which also he 
went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which 
aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of 
God, waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was 
a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 203 

saved through water." 1 This is a much-disputed pas- 
sage. It has been interpreted as meaning only that 
Jesus preached through Noah who had the Spirit ot 
Christ. Undoubtedly Jesus did by his spirit preach 
through Noah as through all the prophets from that 
day on. But this statement goes far beyond that. 
Alford thus writes on this passage, 2 "Jesus went to 
the place of custody of departed spirits, and there 
preached to these spirits which were formerly dis- 
obedient when God's longsuffering waited in the days 
of Noah. Thus far I conceive our passage stands 
committed ; and I do not believe it possible to make 
it say less or other than this. Meyer states, ' This is 
the view of the oldest Fathers of the Greek and Latin 
churches as also of the greater number of the later 
and modern theologians.'" 

The visit of Christ to this place is also referred 
to by both Peter and Paul in a quotation from the 
Psalms: "Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, 
neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corrup- 
tion ; " " He foreseeing this, spake of the resurrection 
of the Christ, that neither was he left in Hades, nor 
did his flesh see corruption." 3 It is also referred to 
by Paul in these words, ' ' He that ascended, what is 
it but that he also descended into the lower parts of 
the earth ?"* 

The purpose of this preaching of the gospel to these 
is thus referred to by the same apostle who gives the 
first passage : ' ' For unto this end was the gospel 
preached even to the dead, that they might be judged 
according to men in the flesh, but live according to 
God in the spirit." 6 

To these spirits Jesus preached the gospel. It 
was the perfect gospel only then fully prepared by the 
atonement for sin. The same gospel by which we and 
all are saved. The hearers were those who had lived 

1 1 Peter iii. 18-20. 2 Greek Testament, 4 Vols., London, 1869. 

8 Acts ii. 27, 31. * Eph. iv. 9. 6 Peter iv. 6. 



204 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

and cued without any gospel or any law. They are 
thus referred to by Paul : " For until the law sin was 
in the world : but ski is not imputed when there is no 
law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until 
Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the 
likeness of Adam's transgression, who is a figure of 
him that was to come." 1 This mission of Jesus he 
referred to in his opening sermon describing the er- 
rands he came to fulfil : ' ' He hath sent me to pro- 
claim release to the captives." 2 He looked forward 
to this from the beginning of his mission. 

The following scripture gives the account of the 
full success of this gospel mission of Jesus : " Where- 
fore he saith, when he ascended on high, he led cap- 
tivity captive and gave gifts unto men. (Now this, He 
ascended, what is it but that he also descended into 
the lower parts of the earth ? He that descended is 
the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, 
that he might fill all things.)" 8 The term "captiv- 
ity " refers to those taken by the enemy and afterward 
recaptured by their own friends again. It is so ap- 
plied to the captive Israelites by Deborah: "Arise, 
Barak, and lead thy captivity captive." 4 Rev. Elijah 
R. Craven, D. D., writes as follows: 5 "Christ, be- 
tween the periods of his death and resurrection, de- 
livered from Hades a captivity contained therein. 
. . . The fact that he did so the writer believes to 
be referred to in several passages. " 

This was a victory over Satan such as Christ de- 
scribed in this scripture : "No one can enter into the 
house of a strong man, and spoil his goods, except he 
first bind the strong man ; and then he will spoil his 
house." 6 Having bound the strong man, Christ now 
spoiled his house. 

It was Christ remembering his first human friend 

1 Rom. v. 13, 14. *Lukeiv. 18. 

3 Eph. iv. 8-10. l Judges v. 12. 

6 Lange's Commentary, Revelation; New York, 1874; pp. 373, 374. 
• Mark iii. 27. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE 205 

and his children. It was Jehovah fulfilling the type 
of Abraham, bringing back the captive Lot and his 
family taken by the enemy, and David coming in tri- 
umph with his own, taken from Ziklag. It was the 
first gospel revival. Before Pentecost came, there was 
a pentecost in the nether world. They heard the 
good news. It was truly "news" to them. Whether 
they hoped for any deliverence we do not know ; but 
if they knew, we can imagine their expectancy and 
delight when the Saviour came and flung the prison 
doors wide open. 

The church is a glorious body, but we must not 
limit the work of Christ to it or to our agencies. We 
do not have a monopoly of the custody of the grace 
of God. He can work with us or without us, medi- 
ately or immediately, by us or by himself alone. 

There is no warrant, however, from this incident, 
for the doctrine of a second probation for any since 
that time. It was a single errand of Jesus before his 
ascension to a single class who lived and died under 
exceptional circumstances. They had neither law nor 
gospel and were cut off suddenly as a whole world by 
an awful overthrow, which was necessary to bring in 
a new dispensation. The following passage refers to 
those we are considering, and declares their spiritual 
state and the grace of God to them : " Until the law, 
sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where 
there is no law. . . . Where no law is there is no 
transgression." 1 The world has had since both law 
and gospel, and as the apostle teaches, has rejected the 
truth and is now in self-chosen darkness. There are 
direct statements of Scripture as to the relative posi- 
tions of those in Hades and paradise, as well as the 
possibility of the former being delivered. In the 
narrative of the rich man and beggar, Abraham tells 
the former : " Between us and you there is a great 
gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence 

1 Rom. v. 13 ; iv. 15. 



206 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

to you may not be able, and that none may pass over 
from thence to us." 1 

The time when Jesus preached to "the spirits in 
prison " is, by those who take this view, usually held 
to have been between his death and resurrection. 
But this does not seem possible for the following 
reasons : The redemption which he undoubtedly 
preached was the same we enjoy, and this was not 
finished until his resurrection. The Scriptures teach 
that his resurrection was the vital part of redemption. 
Christ was ' ' delivered for our trespasses, and was 
raised for our justification." "If Christ hath not 
been raised ; your faith is vain ; ye are yet in your 
sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in 
Christ are perished." 2 Jesus could not proclaim the 
finished gospel until he rose from the dead, for re- 
demption was not finished until then. Again, it is 
not at all probable nor according to his own words 
that he would proclaim the finished gospel to these 
disobedient spirits before he announced it to his loved 
circle of chosen and intimate friends on earth. 

Still further, as we shall see, the company of 
these spirits had a place with him in his ascension, 
and it does not seem probable that he would keep 
them waiting forty days after his proclamation of the 
gospel of their deliverance. Besides the account gives 
the impression of an immediate deliverance connected 
with his ascension. Further, he was in paradise dur- 
ing the time of his burial, as he promised the dying 
thief, and as the analogy of the believer's death re- 
quires us to believe. His dying words, ' ' Into thy 
hands I commend my spirit," are in harmony with the 
view of his being in paradise. Another objection is 
that to preach in his disembodied spirit after having 
assumed his human nature, would be a retrogression 
which does not occur elsewhere in his work. And, 
most vital of all, is the objection that Jesus in his 
disembodied spirit is not the Christ of redemption the 
*Luke xvi. 26. 2 Rom. iv. 25 ; I Cor. xv. 17. 






CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 207 

saved are to know, who consists of the eternal Christ 
in the glorified nature and risen body of Jesus. The 
words "put to death in the flesh, but quickened in 
the spirit" refer to his death and resurrection, and 
simply place in contrast his earthly and resurrection 
state and life in which he went and preached to the 
spirits in prison. 

The history of the earthly life of Christ usually 
ends with his ascension. But this divides the narra- 
tive of his exaltation which began with his resurrec- 
tion. By the aid of Scripture we can follow him 
further. We know where Jesus went by his words, 
' ' What then if ye should behold the Son of man ascend- 
ing where he was before ? "* A body requires a place. 
Christ is therefore in some place. We apply the 
word "heaven" to all the holy part of the unseen 
world. Bat there are localities there as here. We 
are not in the dark as to where Christ is. The pres- 
ent state of Christ is everywhere described in Scrip- 
ture as "sitting on the right hand of God." The 
dying Stephen saw him there, and so testified. It 
was the prophecy in the Messianic Psalm quoted by 
our Lord and the apostles so often: "Sit thou on 
my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy foot- 
stool." 8 

The reception of the ascending Jesus is described 
to us. If heaven was vocal when Jesus was born, 
what must have been the joy and glory there when he 
re-entered in triumph with his attending angels and 
the "captivity " taken from the hand of the enemy. 
The sons of God shouted for joy because of the fin- 
ished creation. We do not know their song, but we 
have the anthem of welcome to the triumphant Re- 
deemer : — 

"Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted 
up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall 
come in. 

"Who is this King of glory ? 

'John vi. 62. •Ps. ex. I, 



208 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

' ' The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty 
in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates. Yea, lift 
them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory 
shall come in. 

* ' Who is this King of Glory ? 

"The Lord of Hosts. He is the King of Glory." 1 

The great act of Christ on entering heaven was to 
present for us his finished work as declared in the 
following passage : ' ' For Christ entered not into a 
holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the 
true ; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the 
face of God for us." 2 This was " a once for all " act. 
In this act he presented himself and his blood as the 
evidence of his fulfilment of all the forfeits accepted 
by him since the world was ; he fully met all the obli- 
gations assumed by him. 

The work of Christ on entering heaven was ap- 
plied there also ; for heaven had been defiled by sin 
as well as earth. Angels had fallen. Satan had en- 
tered, and his work there needed that cleansing 
snouid be applied. This is referred to by the follow- 
ing text : "It was necessary therefore that the copies 
of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with 
these ; but the heavenly things themselves with better 
sacrifices than these." 3 The far reaching scope of the 
work of redemption is here indicated. Jesus would 
have had to die if not a soul of man had been saved. 
In some way angels are or will be lifted up by the great 
atonement. It applies to all the creation also. For 
that, too, was defiled and waits for its release from the 
"bondage of corruption." The effects of the sacrifice 
on Calvary go down to the smallest animalcule and up 
to the highest archangel and into the remotest point 
of the eternal future as it sweeps back to the "be- 
ginning "in its scope. 

There is also another phase of the story of redemp- 
tion. Christ said before his death, " I beheld Satan 

1 Ps. xxiv. 7-10. 2 Heb. ix. 24. s Heb. ix. 23. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 200. 

fallen as lightning from heaven ; " "Now is the judg- 
ment of this world : now shall the prince of this world 
be cast out." * Only by force did Satan renounce his 
right to a place among the sons of God he had held 
so long. The victory was won by the blood of the 
Lamb. It is to be observed that this ascension vic- 
tory of Christ over Satan affects Christ personally. 
His people are still exposed to the accusations, but, 
as will be seen in the next chapter, are protected by 
Jesus with his blood as a plea. 

The vision of John completes the description of 
the advent of Jesus to heaven on his return from 
earth : ' ' And I saw, and I heard a voice of many 
angels round about the throne and the living crea- 
tures and the elders ; and the number of them 
was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thou- 
sands of thousands ; saying with a great voice, 
Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive 
the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and 
honor, and glory, and blessing. And every created 
thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and 
under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that 
are in them, heard I saying, Unto him that sitteth on 
the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and 
the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, forever 
and ever." 2 

The ascension of Christ involves more than the 
acquiring of heavenly, imputed, and unseen benefits. 
Its actual benefits, immediate and experimental, are 
of vast extent. They are thus described by Peter on 
the day of Pentecost : " Being therefore by the right 
of God exalted and having received of the Father the 
promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath poured forth this 
which ye see and hear." 3 He himself had said, " If I 
go, I will send him unto you." 4 He charged them to 
remain in Jerusalem until this promise was fulfilled. 

1 Lulce x. 18 ; John xii. 31. * Rev. v. n-14. 

•Acts ii. 33. * John xvi. 7. 



210 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 

This was the actual fulfilment : ' ' And when the day 
of Pentecost was now come, they were all together 
in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven 
a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it 
filled all the house where they were sitting. And 
there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, 
like as of fire ; and it sat upon each one of them. 
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and 
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave 
them utterance." 1 

This was the universal pouring out of the Holy 
Spirit in all his gifts and graces upon the church for 
themselves and for convicting power in their preach- 
ing of the gospel. We naturally ask, Why was not 
this given until the day of Pentecost, fifty days after 
the resurrection of Jesus ? The reason of the delay 
until the resurrection of Jesus was that all this was 
part of the fruits of his atoning and redemptive work. 
But the reason of the delay until the day of Pentecost 
ten days after the ascension is not so clear. We have 
seen he had already imparted to them the Holy Spirit 
when "he breathed on them and said unto them, 
Receive ye the Holy Ghost" on the day of his res- 
urrection. Fifty days elapsed before the coming of 
the Holy Spirit as afterward promised by him. 

Among the reasons of this delay in sending this 
gracious outpouring was the state of the disciples 
themselves. They needed the preparation of quiet 
waiting in prayer after the scenes of the forty-days' 
appearing of Jesus. There was also a reason in the 
field of their immediate work. Pentecost saw a vast 
gathering from many lands of devout seekers after 
truth who had become attached to the religion of 
Israel ; and the outpouring, wherein they heard every 
man in his own tongue, sent the gospel everywhere 
over the earth. There was also a typical reason for 
the waiting until Pentecost. It was on the first day 

1 Acts ii. 1-4. 



CHRIST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE. 211 

of the week. Seven weeks before there was waved 
before the altar a sheaf, the "first fruits" of the 
harvest then beginning to be ripe. On the day of 
Pentecost there were waved two loaves of unleavened 
bread from the same harvest. Most of those con- 
verted at Pentecost were Israelites, not only of Jews 
but of the "Dispersion," the ten tribes scattered 
abroad. This occasion had special reference to Israel. 
Paul has this in mind when he writes, ' ' If the first 
fruit is holy, so is the lump. " * But the middle wall 
of division no longer exists so far as gospel privileges 
are concerned. Jesus rose on the day the first sheaf of 
the harvest was waved, the outpouring occurred on 
the day of the waving of the two loaves. The latter 
represents the two churches now one in the scope of 
grace. Paul again refers to this in the words, ' ' We 
who are many are one bread." 2 The fire which baked 
the loaves has its fulfilment in the Holy Spirit which 
Jesus said should baptize them with fire. The changed 
character is typified by the bread. 

Comparing the two givings of the Spirit, we note 
that the first was given by Jesus himself to the apos- 
tles only, the latter to all by the Father through him. 
We also observe that the former was accompanied by 
no manifestations except the silent breathing of Jesus. 
That the first was not the full, whole giving is plain 
from the need of the second being given, and their 
waiting for it. The difference is further seen by the 
fact that they did no work as the church except to fill 
the vacant apostleship, until they received the pente- 
costal effusion of the Holy Spirit. The further differ- 
ence is seen in the immediate and great change which 
the latter produced in the disciples, and the mighty 
effects which followed in others through their speaking 
and miracle-working power. Still further, the latter 
was repeated, while the first was not. The former 
may be described as the conferring of apostolic 

•Rom. xi. 16. * i Cor. x. iy. 



212 CHRIST IN HIS EARTHIA LIFE. 

authority, the latter of power for service. There is 
also this difference; the apostles received all the 
same authority, but the recipients of the pentecostal 
outpouring each received of a portion as Paul 

teaches. * 

This finished the immediate work Jesus came to 
do. The world was brought into relations of grace with 
God the church formed and endowed with all gifts 
and 'graces for its work. There ensued the long age 
in which we live. The state and work of Christ m 
this comes next before us. 

1 i Cor. xii. 



CHAPTER V. 



JESUS CHRIST. 
CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

The New Testament contains three distinct rev- 
elations. They are given respectively by Jesus him- 
self and through Paul and John. The first is contained 
in the Gospels, the second in the Epistles, and the 
third is the Revelation. These occur successively as to 
time and order, and each succeeding revelation is an 
advance upon the previous one and contains a larger 
and different view of Christ. Jesus had told his dis- 
ciples : "I have yet many things to say unto you, but 
ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the 
Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the 
truth : for he shall not speak from himself ; but what 
things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak : and 
he shall declare unto you the things that are to come. 
He shall glorify me : for he shall take of mine, and 
shall declare it unto you. All things whatsoever the 
Father hath are mine : therefore said I, that he taketh 
of mine, and shall declare it unto you." 1 

This is Christ's own statement, that his people 
should have a fuller revelation of himself through the 
Spirit than he himself gave them. These revelations 
of Christ are found in the Acts and Epistles, and the 
Apocalypse. 

The special medium of the next of these revela- 
tions of Christ was Paul. All the other apostles and 
disciples were also taught of the Spirit, and their 

1 John xvi. 12-15. 

[exs] 



214 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

writings are of equal inspiration with those of Paul, 
and teach the same truths ; but Paul was, as Christ 
said, a chosen vessel converted by the personal ap- 
pearance and word of Christ himself. He places 
himself before us in these words, five times repeated, 
and as no other ever does, — "Be ye followers of 
me. " He thus speaks of his message : ' ' For I make 
known to you, brethren, as touching the gospel which 
was preached by me, that it is not after man. For 
neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, 
but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 

He wrote half the New Testament. All we have of 
Christianity on earth to-day, certainly the best of it, 
is the result of Paul's work, as the labors of the 
Twelve are nearly unknown to us. Here, then, in 
Paul's writings, we may look for that fuller revelation 
of Christ which he himself said the Holy Spirit should 
give. 

In the titles applied to Christ in the epistles will 
be found the apostolic view of his present office, 
dignity, and work. The name Jesus, used in the 
Gospels, seldom occurs in the Epistles except in com- 
bination with other names or titles, and is less and 
less used as time passes. So also Jesus' own favorite 
title, "The Son of Man," occurs but once. Both are 
associated with his humiliation. In passing, there is 
noticeable a difference in the names applied to Christ 
by the different apostles. Peter alone applies the full 
name and title — ' ' Our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ." Paul alone uses the title, "Cur great God 
and Saviour Jesus Christ." John alone speaks of 
"The Son." The simple title, "The Lord." was the 
designation used by the disciples when speaking of 
him among themselves. It is the title Christ himself 
approved of in the words, ' ' Ye call me Master and 
Lord, and ye say well for so I am." a It is spoken of 
thus by Paul : " No man can say Jesus is Lord, but 

>Gal. i. II, 12. "Johnxiii. 13. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 21 5 

in the Holy Spirit." l It is expressive of his relation- 
ship to those who receive him, and therefore the title 
for the church. The title "King" is not applied to 
Christ in the Epistles in his relationship to the believer 
or the church. It does not express the view of Christ 
in his present state presented by the apostles either 
to the world or the church. To speak of him as " my 
King "or " our King, " as is customary with many de- 
vout believers, does not express the Scriptural, accu- 
rate, and close present relation Christ bears to the 
believer or to the church. Paul uses it only in his 
prophetic doxologies. " Christ " is the great title of 
the epistles. It is used without the article. The term, 
' ' the Christ, " is only used by the New Testament writ- 
ers when Israelites are addressed, or the Israelite rela- 
tionship to Christ, or that idea in some way involved. 
It is equivalent to "the Messiah," which is Israel's 
title exclusively. Neither of these are therefore prop- 
erly applied to Christ from the world or Christian 
standpoint. The combined name, "Jesus Christ," 
expresses his personality and office. It identifies 
Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ of Israel and Christ 
of the church and of the world. 

Paul's peculiar title is "Christ Jesus." No other 
writer applies this, as will be seen from the Revised 
Version. He uses this when he wishes to emphasize 
the office of Christ, and the more common title, 
"Jesus Christ," when he has his personality in mind. 
The first looks to his present spiritual relations and 
word, as in this text, " We preach not ourselves but 
Christ Jesus as Lord." 2 The other refers more par- 
ticularly to the past and his redemptive work as, 
"Jesus Christ and him crucified." 3 The latter de- 
scribes the historical order of the work of Christ, 
the former the order in which we recognize and 
enjoy him. He must be "Christ" to us before we 
can love him in the more personal relationship. 

1 1 Cor. xii. 3. 2 2 Cor. iv. 5. » I Cor. ii. 2. 



2l6 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

The apostles do not stop with these well-known 
names and titles. They glorify their Lord and ours 
by the most exalted terms. Their doxologies abound 
in such titles as "Lord of Glory," " Prince of Life," 
"Only Potentate," "King of Kings and Lord of 
Lords," "The King eternal, incorruptible, invisible, 
the only God." All these, however, have a prophetic 
outlook, and do not come within our present field of 
study, Christ of the present. 

In preaching Christ the apostles kept clearly in 
mind three classes — The Jew, the Gentile, and the 
church of God. A very noticeable difference will 
be observed in their presentation of Christ to each 
of these. These three — Israel, the church, and 
the world — must be kept distinctly in mind in the 
study of Christ's present state and work. Another 
classification of the message as to the person and 
work of Christ will be considered. They viewed 
Christ as past, present, and future, or Christ histor- 
ical, Christ living, and Christ predicted. 

To Israel, Jewish proselytes, and attendants on 
the synagogue, they presented Christ as the one 
foretold in the prophecies, and showed the fulfilment 
in Jesus of Nazareth, and asserted that he was "The 
Christ," or "Messiah." The death of Christ was 
presented as having a special reference to Israel. It 
was a special redemption for them, as Caiaphas un- 
wittingly prophesied that "Jesus should die for the 
nation." 1 This death of Christ for Israel is regarded 
from the standpoint of his taking a place among them 
and thereby sharing their responsibility under the 
Mosaic law and incurring the penalty of their viola- 
tion of it. The awful curse pronounced on Israel as, 
sprinkled with blood, they filed into the promised 
land, rested upon Christ, and he died for Israel to 
redeem them from it. So Paul presented Christ to 
the Galatian Church, which was a Judaized church, 

1 John xi. 51. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 217 

and therefore to bring them back to the liberty of 
the gospel, he presented Christ from this standpoint. 
He represented Christ as * ' born under the law, that 
he might redeem them which were under the law," 
and that ■ ' Christ redeemed us from the curse of the 
law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, 
Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." 1 This is 
Israel's view of Christ. The curse of the law rested 
only on those who had the law, and no nation but 
Israel had it given them or was commanded to obey 
it. It was Israel's law only. It began, ' ' Hear, O Is- 
rael." The curse of this violated law of Israel was 
that which Christ bore. The world has another plane 
of condemnation and another doom, but this " curse of 
the law " is Israel's exclusively. Paul as an Israelite 
had a place under this gospel preached to Israel, and 
could therefore include himself in this, and say, 
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law." 
The Epistle to the Hebrews, which was written to 
Hebrews, gives us the view of Christ in his present 
state as presented to Israel. It is simply a spiritual 
exposition of the Levitical law, or rather that part of 
it referring to the high priest's office. It presents the 
Christ in his mediatorial and intercessory work in 
figures an Israelite would understand. The culminat- 
ing point is in this passage, "But Christ having come 
a high priest of the good things to come, through the 
greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with 
hands, that is to say, not of this creation, nor yet 
through the blood of goats and calves, but through 
his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy 
place, having obtained eternal redemption." 2 This 
presents the central rite in the Levitical ritual and 
shows its meaning. Having made this central type 
clear, all the rest will arrange itself in intelligible 
order. The mediatorial work of Christ is guarded 
from being set forth in a purely Israelitish light by 

»Gal. iv. £ ; m. 13. * Heb ix. II. 



2l8 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

the reference to Melchizedek as the type of the High 
Priest. The great lesson of this book is in the urgings 
to faith in, and faithfulness to, the unseen High Priest 
who is passed within the veil. His dignity is shown 
by comparison with prophets and angels, and his 
sympathy for his people by his being made like unto 
his brethren. The sin of rejecting Christ is shown 
by the figure of trampling under foot the sacred blood 
of the covenant. It is the strongest plea possible to 
make with an Israelite or any believer, to "hold fast," 
which word is the key-note of the Epistle. 

There may be advanced against this view of the 
gospel for Israel, the texts : ' ' There is no distinc- 
tion between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is 
Lord of all, and rich unto all that call upon him ; " 
' ' There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be 
neither bond nor free, there can be no male and fe- 
male ; for ye are all one man in Christ Jesus. " x These 
passages declare the equal salvability of all, and the 
same standing of all in Christ after being saved, but 
do not refer to the presentation of the gospel leading 
to their salvation or the special scope of the death 
of Christ as affecting the two classes. 

The resurrection of Jesus is the great fact held to 
by the apostles as proof to Israel that he was ' ' The 
Christ. " They advance it and attest it personally. It 
did not seem to be questioned by the Jews in the 
days of the apostles. They were not incredulous as 
to the supernatural, as were the Greeks. This and the 
Scriptural proof of the position of Jesus as the Mes- 
siah were sufficient for those who were of sincere 
mind and ready to follow the truth. 

A special feature of Christ as presented to Israel 
by the apostles was his coming as the Messiah in 
glory. This was the great view of Israel and their 
desire. In Jesus they failed to see their Messiah of 
glory. After his ascension his disciples expected the 
Messiah's kingdom of glory would immediately ap- 

1 Rom. x. 12; Gal. iii. 28. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 219 

pear. Neither Jesus nor the apostles corrected this 
expectation as to the fact of such a kingdom, but only 
as to its time, manner of appearing, nature, and the 
characteristics of those who should enter it. The 
apostles held out to Israel the coming of such a Mes- 
siah and his kingdom as they expected. Peter so 
presented this truth as an incentive to repentance, 
and makes the facts of his first coming the proof of 
his coming as ' ' The Christ "or " The Messiah. " ' 'Re- 
pent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may 
be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of 
refreshing from the presence of the Lord ; and that 
he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for 
you, even Jesus : whom the heaven must receive un- 
til the times of restoration of all things, whereof God 
spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which have 
been since the world began." 1 



In the preaching of Christ to the world by the 
apostles there are noticeable very great changes of 
several kinds. There is first of all a studied disre- 
gard of the earthly life of Jesus. This is true also to 
a great extent in the presentation of Christ to the 
church and to Israel. In the Acts and in the Epis- 
tles especially, there is almost total omission of the 
story of the Four Gospels up to the events of the 
death of Christ. There are a few brief allusions to 
his birth, temptation, and transfiguration, and one or 
two general remarks, such as that he went about do- 
ing good and healing all that were possessed with the 
devil ; and that is all, up to the crucifixion. Of all 
those mighty miracles not one is related or even men- 
tioned specifically. Of all the parables of Jesus not 
one is repeated, nor do the apostles ever preach upon 
any word of Jesus as a text. That whole great life is 
passed over in a silence which is evidently intentional. 
Indeed, Paul says as to it all, ' ' Wherefore we hence- 

'Acts iii. 19-21. 



220 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

forth know no man after the flesh : even though we 
have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know 
him so no more." 1 As has been seen, even his 
earthly name, Jesus, is little used, and less and less 
as the time passes. This same passing by of the life 
of Jesus is noticeable in the Apostles' Creed, which 
passes at once from "Born of the Virgin Mary" to 
"Suffered under Pontius Pilate." 

In answer to the inquiry as to why such disregard 
of all this life of Christ, it is sufficient to reply that 
they had a greater view to present, and they would 
not allow the lesser to detract attention from it. It is 
no disparagement to say the Christ of the Acts and 
Epistles is larger than the Christ of the Gospels. He 
himself has so increasingly revealed himself from the 
first. There is another reason. As has been noted, 
Jesus came as an Israelite to Israel only as he said, 
" I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house 
of Israel." 2 So Jesus came under the law ; he lived 
under it, and kept its ordinances, and preached it and 
sent inquirers to it saying, ' ' What is written in the 
law? . . . This do and thou shalt live." s 

Paul writes of the earthly life of Jesus as follows : 
11 For I say that Christ has been made a minister of 
the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might 
confirm the truth given unto the fathers."* Jesus 
lived under the old covenant. Calvary had not yet 
come. The law was still in force. Therefore he 
himself referred them to the coming teachings of the 
Spirit, saying , " I have yet many things to say unto you 
but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the 
Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all 
the truth. . . . He shall glorify me for he shall take 
of mine and shall declare it unto you." 6 Here is a 
distinct promise of a larger revelation of Christ. 
This greater Christ was the Christ Paul preached. 

1 2 Cor. v. 1 6. "Matt. xv. 24. 3 Luke x. 26, 28. 

4 Rom. xv. 8. "John xvi. 12, 13, 14. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 221 

The apostles did not preach Christ to the world as 
the babe of Bethlehem or the meek and lowly Naza- 
rene or the Great Prophet or Teacher, or hold him up 
only as the example of a holy life, bidding the world 
follow him. One may so look at Christ and yet be 
far from being one of his. John Stuart Mill said, 
"Nor would it be easy for even an unbeliever to find 
a better translation of the rule of virtue from the ab- 
stract into the concrete than to endeavor so to live 
that Christ would approve our life." Yet he re- 
mained an unbeliever. Napoleon said, "Between 
him [Jesus] and whoever else in the world, there is 
no possible comparison." But he did not repent of 
his butcheries of thousands of human lives. Strauss 
wrote, • ' Jesus remains the highest model of religion 
within the reach, of our thoughts," and then proceeded 
to reduce all the narratives of Jesus' miracles to a 
series of myths. 

The Christ of the Gospels is more largely studied 
and preached to-day than any other. Indeed, some 
know no other Christ. They think they are preach- 
ing Christ when dwelling on some feature of his 
earthly nature or work or some incident in his life. 
Now all this is useful and is a proper field for 
study and preaching, and all the Gospels and their 
beautiful lessons are ours, but the great fact re- 
mains that none of this nor all of this is " preach- 
ing Christ. " The world cannot be saved by the babe 
of Bethlehem nor the prophet of Galilee. The lowly 
Nazarene is not the Christ of the church, nor Christ 
for the world. Jesus weeping over Jerusalem did 
not save it and cannot save us. It is not the tears of 
Jesus to which we look for forgiveness and which we 
plead at the throne of grace. Faith in Christ as the 
mighty wonder-worker is not that which he seeks. 
Admiration for his holy life and wonderful words is 
not faith in Christ. Receiving Jesus as a leader, as 
distinguished from Buddha or Mohammed, or any 



2 22 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

other, is not coming to Christ. All this may be pre- 
liminary and preparatory to a saving faith in Christ, 
and lead one to consider Christ truly ; but all is com- 
ing short until Christ is seen as the Crucified One. 

There is a noticeable difference in the presentation 
of the gospel to the world from that preached to 
Israel. The gospel as preached to the world is found 
partly in the messages of the apostles to the Gentiles, 
as recorded in the book of Acts, particularly those of 
Paul ; for we have scarcely any other whose addresses 
to the Gentiles are given. The epistles also to a cer- 
tain extent show Christ as preached to the world, for 
the churches to whom they were addressed were drawn 
out from the Gentiles. Cornelius, in whose house 
Peter preached, was "a righteous man and one that 
feared God, and well reported of by all the nation of 
the Jews ; " he was undoubtedly a proselyte and 
therefore was addressed as the Jews were. The ser- 
mon of Paul on Mars Hill 1 to the Athenians illus- 
trates the presentation of the gospel to the world by 
Paul. It was doubtless this same view he pre- 
sented to Felix, who "sent for Paul and heard him 
concerning the faith in Christ Jesus. And as he rea- 
soned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to 
come, Felix was terrified." 8 So also Paul preached 
at Lystra. These were evidently awakening mes- 
sages delivered to dead souls, and would have been 
followed by presenting Christ more fully. 

How Paul preached Christ we learn from the ac- 
count he himself gives of his gospel in Corinth, which 
he declares was as follows : "Now I make known unto 
you, brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you 
which also ye received, wherein also ye stand, by 
which also ye are saved ; I make known, I say, in 
what words I preached it unto you, if ye hold it 
fast except ye believed- in vain. For I delivered 
unto you first of all that which also I received, how 

1 Acts xvii. * Acts xxiv. 24, 25. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 22 3 

that Christ died for our sins according to the Scrip- 
tures ; and that he was buried and that he hath been 
raised on the third day according to the Scriptures ; 
and that he appeared to Cephas ; then to the twelve ; 
then he appeared to about five hundred brethren at 
once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but 
some are fallen asleep ; then he appeared to James ; 
then to all the apostles ; and last of all as unto one 
born out of due time, he appeared unto me also." * He 
wrote before as to this gospel : "I determined not to 
know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him 
crucified." 3 It will be observed that this is first of all 
a recital of facts. The gospel then consists first of 
all of a series of facts. It does not consist of opinions 
or speculations of a philosophical kind, or even chiefly 
of doctrines so called. Christ, his death, and resur- 
rection are the vital facts of Christianity. 

The proof and meaning of the death of Christ is 
indicated by the phrase ' ' according to the Scriptures," 
the "Scriptures" being the Old Testament Scrip- 
tures. Here, then, is substantial agreement with the 
view given to Israel. But there is not the same ful- 
ness of detail anywhere given, either in the addresses 
in Acts or in the Epistles. The Epistles were written 
to the church, but they were churches drawn out from 
the Gentiles mostly, and therefore the presentation of 
Christ to them shows how he was also preached to 
the world, although, as we shall see, they give to the 
church a far larger view than to the world. In the 
Epistles to the Gentile churches there is a noticeable 
paucity of references to the Mosaic law or age, as 
proof or illustration of the person or work of Christ. 
Paul makes no account of it as presenting Christ. 
Omitting Hebrews, — which was written to the He- 
brews, and therefore out of this view, and Galatians 
written to a Judaized church — there are but few 
appeals of any kind to the Mosaic law or any of its 

1 1 Cor. xv. 1-8. * I Cor. ii. z. 



224 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

types or ceremonies. There are a few illustrative 
references, such as to the passover, 1 and illustrative 
warnings from Israel's failures. 2 These indicate how 
the Scriptures were used in presenting Christ to the 
world ; for if so little reference is made and of such 
a desultory kind in messages to Christian churches, 
we may conclude as little or less reference was made 
in preaching Christ to the world. We are obliged to 
take notice of this singular omission on the part of 
one so full of the Old Testament as Paul and so 
capable of using it. 

Paul tells us that Abraham and not Moses was 
"the father of all them that believe," and that the 
gospel was first preached unto him, and that he was 
saved by faith, and that circumcision was given him 
as a seal of his faith and not as a bond or badge of 
the law, which did not come until four hundred years 
after ; and that this subsequent law could not be 
retroactive, and besides was only temporary in its 
purpose, — "a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ," — 
and was fulfilled and finished by Christ, "Having 
blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was 
against us, which was contrary to us : and he hath 
taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross." 3 
That the law never could nor did save and cannot 
now, is shown by this scripture : ' ' For there is a 
disannulling of a foregoing commandment because of 
its weakness and unprofitableness (for the law made 
nothing perfect), and a bringing in thereupon of a 
better hope, through which we draw nigh unto God."* 
We are brought back again to the way of faith found 
by Abraham and all intervening ordinances are laid 
aside. In short, the apostle Paul sweeps away the 
whole Mosaic superstructure down to the Abrahamic 
foundation, and upon that erects the new edifice of 
Christian Doctrine, Life, and Church Polity. Now 

1 1 Cor. v. 7, 8. * i Cor. x. 1-13. 

3 Col. ii. 14. * Heb. vii. 18, 19. 






CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 22 5 

to base upon the Mosaic law, the teachings of the 
death of Christ, would confer an importance upon 
it by so attaching it to the gospel as to practically 
impose it upon the young churches, especially those 
accessible to the Judaizing teachers whom Paul so 
strenuously opposed. 

All this, however, does not detract from the use 
of all we find in the Mosaic law to illustrate the 
general work of Christ ; indeed it is preserved to us 
for this purpose, and is rightly and most profitably 
so used. But it requires for its understanding a 
Scriptural education equivalent to that of the con- 
dition of the ancient Israelite, and this often does 
not exist, especially in miscellaneous communities 
and audiences. Therefore the ceremonies and sac- 
rifices convey no meaning of a spiritual or even re- 
ligious kind to. many, and even are a hindrance to 
understanding the gospel. The offering of a thousand 
oxen and the attendant dividing of the bodies and 
parts and washings and sprinkling of the blood and 
burning of parts and eating of other parts, convey 
no specially religious ideas to such. The hearers 
need previous instruction. We are presenting Christ 
through the ceremonies and sacrifices of the Mosaic 
law to those ignorant of them. We do doctrinally 
what the Judaizing teachers did practically, and 
narrow the spread of the gospel to those who are 
able thus to receive it. 

While Paul has omitted the Mosaic law as proof 
or even illustration of the person and nature and work 
of Christ for the church and the world, he has pre- 
served every essential and universal and eternal truth 
wrapped up in it. The great treatise in which Christ 
is set forth as the Saviour of the world is the Epistle to 
the Romans. The world's capital was appropriately 
chosen as the recipient of a systematic exposition of 
the world's gospel. The Epistle to the Romans be- 
gins by showing man his need of salvation. This is in 

IS 



226 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

contrast to the gospel to Israel, who, whatever their 
spiritual blindness, had some idea of sin and man's 
state. Conscience was alive and quickened by the 
ceasless round of sacrifices and cleansings and confes- 
sions. But the world is dead to the sense of sin as 
well as dead in sin. Paul first makes an expose of 
the state of man. The picture is true to life, as the 
heathen acknowledge when it is shown them. Hu- 
man nature is as the Scripture shows us it, and we 
see it when the cover is taken from some rotting 
plague-spot. Unless a true idea is formed of human 
nature, the Scriptural accounts of the work of Christ 
will not be understood. 

This state of man in sin is declared in Scripture to 
be the result and penalty of ' ' holding down the truth 
in unrighteousness." The world once had the truth, 
and has yet God's witnesses to it. Creation is such a 
witness as we considered in that chapter. He further 
states that man has another witness in himself : 
"When the Gentiles which have no law do by nature 
the things of the law, these having no law are a law 
unto themselves, in that they show the work of the 
law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing 
witness therewith and their thoughts, one with an- 
other accusing or else excusing them." 1 The state 
of the world spiritually is thus described : ' ' For we 
before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, 
that they are all under sin ; as it is written, There is 
none righteous, no, not one ; there is none that under- 
standeth, there is none that seeketh after God ; they 
have all turned aside, they are together become un- 
profitable ; there is none that doeth good, no, not so 
much as one." 2 The world is further described as "in 
darkness," "children of wrath," "living in the wicked 
one." 

Jesus had foretold the meaning of his death for the 
world in these words, "a ransom for many." A ran- 
som is that which buys back a person or thing sold or 

1 Rom. ii. 14, 15. 2 Rom. iii. 9-12. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 227 

forfeited. Jesus was this ' ' Ransom "or " Redemp- 
tion. " The effect of the death of Jesus was perfectly 
to fulfil and satisfy every pledge given and accepted, 
not only by the multitudinous sacrifices and ceremo- 
nies of the Israelitish church, but to deliver as a ran- 
som many long before Israel, as in the antediluvian 
age, and up to Moses, and in the heathen nations, 
and all from that to the end coming under this decla- 
ration: ' ' In every nation he that feareth him, and 
worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him." 1 The 
redemption of Christ for the world rests on a vastly 
wider foundation, and has a vastly wider meaning 
than the Israelitish or Mosaic. As noted, it was con- 
templated in the eternal past, and began to operate 
immediately after the fall. 

The relationship in which Christ died for the world 
is thus described : " As through one trespass the judg- 
ment came unto all men to condemnation ; even so 
through one act of righteousness the free gift came 
unto all men to justification of life. For as through 
the one man's disobedience the many were made sin- 
ners, even so through the obedience of the one shall 
the many be made righteous." 2 Christ is here plainly 
declared to have taken his place at the head of the 
race as Adam, did, and by the one act of righteous- 
ness ; namely, his death, brought the free gift of justi- 
fication of life unto man. 

The necessity of the death of Christ for the world 
comes from the fact that mankind rested under the 
doom pronounced at the beginning. "In the day 
that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." 3 
This sentence went out against the whole race as 
the presence of death proves and as the following 
Scripture asserts : ' ' Therefore as through one man 
sin entered into the world, and death through sin ; 
and so death passed unto all men, for that all 
sinned." 4 Sin is described in Scripture as a deadly 

1 Acts x. 35. 8 Rom. v. 18, 19. 

8 Gen. ii. 17. 'Rom. v. 12. 



228 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

plague, as poison, as a crime against nature. It is 
man's worst enemy. It has ruined earth and dev- 
astated heaven. It is treason against God. By its 
nature, effects, its manward and Godward work, it 
deserves death. It is a capital crime. Therefore 
God has said, ' ' The soul that sinneth, it shall die. " ■ 
Death is God's witness to this awful truth of man's 
guilt as a race, and conscience testifies to each individ- 
ually. Yet Adam did not die. We have seen he 
was saved by the intervention of Christ who became 
thereby responsible for his sin, and procured for him 
not only respite from instant death in the garden as 
threatened, but also the hope of eternal life. We 
have seen that Christ followed with the same respite 
for all who showed their faith by obedience. A vast 
accumulation of sin and guilt and obligation was thus 
laid on Christ. This had to be met by him. It 
was thus Christ became the world's Substitute and 
so must become the world's Sacrifice. 

The redemptive world work of Christ is thus de- 
clared by Paul : "Christ Jesus, whom God hath set 
forth to be a propitiation through faith by his blood, 
to show his righteousness, because of the passing over 
of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God ; 
for the showing, I say, of his righteousness at this 
present season ; that he might himself be just, and the 
justifier of him who hath faith in Jesus." 2 The "pro- 
pitiation" does not refer to God's feelings personally, 
so to speak. It was offended Righteousness which 
must be propitiated. God could not pass by sin un- 
noticed or unpunished. It would not be right or just, 
or to put it as in the above passage, it would not be 
"righteousness." Now God must be righteous as 
well as merciful. Justice is a right quality, and in 
God an unchangeable one, as all his divine attributes 
are. We see this unchanging justice in nature, who 
punishes impartially the violators of her laws. We 
•Eze. xviii. 4. » Rom. iii. 25, 26. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 229 

see the necessity of it in society, where unpunished 
crime renders places uninhabitable, and in its last, 
and fullest extremity is anarchy. 

God occupies a double relationship. He is a 
Father to his children, but there are other beings be- 
side his children. There are angels and devils. To 
all these he occupies the position of Ruler. Now his 
attitude as Father and Ruler are very different. If 
God is to treat a wrongdoer as a child, it must be 
upon some grounds which will not impugn his jus- 
tice. If God is to justify the ungodly, he must be 
justified in doing so. Otherwise all other beings could 
complain, and justly, of his partiality. Such treat- 
ment of man would be subversive of all moral govern- 
ment. Devils would have a right to the same immunity 
and could charge God with favoritism and therefore 
injustice. All sinners in every age and of every depth 
of sin could demand release from penalty. There 
would be no restraint either of the sinner or of sin, and 
the universe would become a universal hell. The 
just, inexorable, unchangeable justice of God is the 
blessed barrier between all right and holy beings and 
such an awful possibility. 

The redemptive world work of Christ is described 
thus : ' ' God was in Christ reconciling the world unto 
himself, not reckoning unto them their trespasses." 1 
The word "reconciling" must be taken in its Scrip- 
tural and not in its conversational meaning. It means 
primarily not a change of feeling either in the world or 
in God, but a change of relationship. This is seen in 
this text, "That he might reconcile them both in one 
body unto God through the cross, having slain the en- 
mity thereby." 8 It was not that God had to be made 
willing to receive sinful man, but that it had to be 
made right for him to do so. It is not right to pass 
by sin and let sinners go unpunished. As has been 
seen, God must do right always. There was but one 

l 2 Cor. v. 19. "Eph. ii. 16. 



23O CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

way to accomplish both ends. Christ must bear man's 
guilt and penalty or an equal or satisfactory one. 
This he did. Nor was it God obliging Christ to do 
this nor Christ being more ready than God to suffer 
for man. They are one in this as in all things. It 
was God who so loved the world as to give his only 
begotten Son for its salvation. It was Christ who 
loved us and gave himself for us. 

The act of righteousness by which Christ secured 
for the world this state of grace was his death. It 
was not his holy life or his words of truth or his many 
miracles or spotless example. To make this definite, 
it is his cross which is spoken of as that by which he 
accomplished this. The cross of Christ is not first 
the cross the Christian bears, but the cross Christ 
himself died upon. Again, the work of reconciling is 
said to be effected by his blood. ' ' Through him to 
reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace 
through the blood of his cross." 1 Blood is simply 
life, "the life thereof which is the blood thereof." 2 
Blood-shed is therefore life given or taken. Christ 
having forfeited his life at the very beginning for 
man's life, now pays the forfeit with his blood, that 
is his life. 

The death of Christ was a satisfactory act of right- 
eousness and answered the ends intended thereby. 
It was not, as has been said, a " quid pro quo." Our 
penal verdicts are not such. Theft and assault are 
not punished in kind but are adequately and satis- 
factorily punished. Such was Christ's death. It was 
satisfactory to God, to angels, to saints, and even to 
devils, and ought to be to sinners for whom he died. 
The death of one great and good man is mourned 
more than the death of a number of worthless or 
vicious persons. The one great and good life far 
outweighs the number of worthless ones. So, to use 
a still stronger figure, the life of a man, as has been 

1 Col. i. 20. 9 Gen. ix. 4. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 23 1 

said, would outweigh in value the lives of a universe 
of insects. So one life, that of Christ, is a sufficient 
satisfaction for the whole of mankind and all existing 
beings of every kind. 

Only by this great Scriptural meaning can the 
death of Christ be adequately accounted for. Neither 
as an act of self-sacrifice nor as an example does it 
satisfy the expectations aroused by such a character 
or the claims of himself or the teachings of his apos- 
tles or previous scripture. Remembering that it was 
wholly voluntary, there must have been a great neces- 
sity for such an act. No one has a right to so vol- 
untarily die unless there is a fully justifying gain or 
end. As a mere spectacle of self-sacrifice it was akin 
to the exhibitions performed by heathen before their 
deities where they sometimes immolate themselves 
to win supposed merit or applause under strong 
excitement. If the death of Christ was only a self- 
permitted martyrdom for right, then it can be par- 
alleled a thousand times by the records of the martyrs 
or the giving of one's self for his country or for the 
saving of the lives of others, of which even the records 
of mere heroism can show equal examples. Only 
in the Scriptural sense is any adequate meaning pos- 
sible to the death of Jesus Christ. No one has a 
right to read out the Scripture meaning and read in 
another. This is the very heart of Scripture. To 
refuse to see this in Scripture is to violate every rule 
of literary and Scriptural interpretation. The Holy 
Spirit only responds to the truth. Therefore to fail 
to so present Christ, is to fail to have the power of 
the Holy Spirit. It is more ; it is denying the Lord 
who bought us, and incurring the danger of being 
denied by him at the last day. 

The death of Jesus brought the world into salvable 
relations to God. He can now be just and yet justify 
the ungodly. This is the meaning of that scripture, 
"God was in Christ reconciling the world unto him- 



2 32 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

self, not reckoning unto them their trespasses. " * It 
was this state and age Jesus spoke of when he an- 
nounced "the acceptable year of the Lord" which he 
came to introduce. We call these "years of grace," 
and so they are. God is dealing now with the world 
in grace. In former ages he dealt in judgment and 
in law. Now all is changed. The whole world is 
offered the gospel of the grace of God. 

The great proof the disciples advanced to the 
world for the truth of their message was the resurrec- 
tion of Christ. It is a matter of fact and not opinion. 
They certify to it as eye witnesses, having seen Jesus 
after his resurrection. Paul gives the names of other 
witnesses, and mentions five hundred seeing him at 
once. Their testimony was not apparently denied 
even by enemies of Christianity in the early centuries. 
The four evangelists are acknowledged by even in- 
fidels to have been veritable persons, and to have 
been of good character, and to have written unbiased 
accounts free of all praise of themselves or even their 
Master, and also free of all comment. They give 
names and places and dates, and the whole bears the 
marks of simple narratives of actual occurrences given 
in unvarnished style. By every legal and literary rule 
of evidence these are witnesses worthy of belief. It 
may be asked, Why did not Jesus publicly appear to 
all, and not only to his own ? He had before said, " If 
they believe not Moses and the prophets, neither will 
they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." 
They disbelieved not for want of evidence but for 
want of desire to give up sin and live rightly. It is 
useless to further convince such. The gospel is a 
sieve. It sifts out the true. They had seen the dead 
raised and did not believe. Neither then nor now 
does God give further evidence to those who do not 
obey the evidence they already have. They can 
reject if they please, and theirs is the loss. The last 
view God has given the world of his Son, is Christ on 

*2 Cor. v. 19. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 2 33 

the cross, the saving view, and this is all they shall 
have until he comes again in glory. 

Among the evidences of the resurrection are the 
many predictions of the Scrip+ures and of Jesus him- 
self that he would rise from the dead. These are so 
connected with the many other predictions regarding 
him which have been fulfilled as noted, that all hang 
together. As the rest were literally fulfilled, so it is 
fair to believe were these also. The simple-minded 
Galileans were incapable of concocting such an in- 
tricate system of fraud, and unable to carry it out 
among hating, watchful, and cunning enemies, to a 
successful and undiscovered issue. 

The testimony of the Jews and the Roman soldiers 
who watched the sepulcher, is not the least valuable 
as to the resurrection of Jesus. ' ' Some of the guard 
came into the city and told the chief priests all the 
things that were come to pass. And when they were 
assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, 
they gave large money to the soldiers, saying, Say ye, 
His disciples came by night, and stole him away while 
we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we 
will persuade him, and rid you of care. So they took 
the money, and did as they were taught ; and this 
saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and con- 
tinueth until this day." 1 This is full of valuable cor- 
roborative evidence. The whole plot is just what 
would be expected in case of a resurrection. The 
enemies of Jesus would have had to give out some 
explanation, and this was the one most likely to occur 
to them. The guard testified that the sepulcher was 
empty, the body gone. 

Here is direct testimony which cannot be disputed, 
and indeed is not by any, even unbelievers, that the 
body of Jesus was not in the tomb after the third day, 
which was the day he had set for his resurrection. 
They also testify that something unusual occurred 
which all were in excitement about. All this is just 

1 Matt, xxviii. 11-15. 



234 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

what would occur on the resurrection. They do not 
go to Pilate, who would have condemned them to 
death for sleeping at their post of duty, or for neg- 
lecting their charge. They do go, as we would 
expect, to those most interested. That is, some of 
them came into the city and told what had hap- 
pened. All were either not fit to go or afraid to 
venture until some security was had. The statement 
that they were asleep corroborates the Scriptural nar- 
rative. They were asleep but not in natural slumber. 
They admit they did not see what happened, being 
asleep. This also fits the Scripture account and our 
sense of propriety. Jesus was seen first not by Roman 
soldiers but by his own friends. The improbable part 
of this account of the soldiers is their evidence as to 
what they knew happened while they were asleep ; 
the improbability of the panic-stricken disciples' at- 
tempting such an adventure ; the absence of anything 
to be accomplished by removing the body from one 
place to another ; the difficulty of concealing for any 
time a dead body, and the certainty of its discovery, 
in time, by their foes, and sure punishment for such an 
attempt ; the impossibility of moving the great stone 
at the door of the sepulcher and removing the body 
without awaking the sleeping guard, — all this stamps 
as false and foolish the story of the Jews. The value, 
however, of this account of theirs is this : it was the 
only other explanation of the empty sepulcher except 
the Scripture account of the resurrection of Jesus. 

The evidences of the resurrection embrace the 
customs and times of the church which have contin- 
ued ever since : The change of the weekly day of 
rest and its name, "the Lord's Day;" the almost 
universal observance by the professing followers of 
Jesus of the anniversary of the event ; and, what is 
to those who have knowledge of it, the greatest proof 
of all, the Christian's spiritual recognition of him, and 
the benefits of prayer in his name, and countless bles- 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 235 

sings -which come to them from this belief and the 
religion founded upon it. No religion founded upon 
a lie or delusion could produce such effects as the gos- 
pel of Jesus has ever since its announcement and 
wherever it is known and received. The wide 
propagation of this belief and its acceptance by the 
best in every community and their adhesion to it are 
evidences which are of weight in candid minds. 
Christianity is its own evidence. Christianity and 
Christ are mutually corroborative. 

The resurrection of Jesus was a complete verifica- 
tion of all his claims for himself. He was thereby 
proved to be the Son of God. God thereby cer- 
tified to himself and all his statements as true. 
It was God's witness to his finished and perfect 
work. If in anything Jesus had not fully obeyed God 
or failed to complete the work appointed to him in 
the keeping of all the law, the fulfilling of all the 
types, the making good of all the pledges accepted 
by him for men's salvation, the perfecting of the sal- 
vation of the believer, God would not have so certi- 
fied to him. Finally, the resurrection of Jesus is 
God's warning to the world that there will be the 
Day of Judgment. "He hath appointed a day, in 
the which he will judge the world in righteousness by 
the man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath 
given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised 
him from the dead." 1 This fact is the one great proof 
of the hereafter and all its glories and terrors. 

The resurrection is the great fact for to-day. The 
battle rages now along the line of the supernatural. 
The credibility of many supernatural or unusual nar- 
ratives of Scripture is denied. Accounts such as the 
standing still of the sun at the word of Joshua, 
the accounts of creation, and the garden of Eden, 
all these are minor events and, as compared with 
this astounding event, far more credible and less im- 
possible. The one who can admit that Jesus rose 

1 Acts xvii. 31. 



236 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

from the dead, can and should have no trouble in 
accepting any other narrative of Scripture. Here, 
then, is the point of attack and defense. Here is 
the vital question. If Jesus rose from the dead, all 
his claims are true. Christianity is as firm as the 
existence of God, and the believer's hope as sure 
and blessed as the risen and glorified Christ. 

On these great facts the apostles based their 
gospel. They proclaimed a free, world-wide salva- 
tion, and called on all to believe and repent and be 
saved. They declared this way was by simple faith : 
1 ' If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, 
and shall believe in thy heart that God raised him 
from the dead, thou shalt be saved." 1 On the other 
hand, they testify that whoever refuses Christ refuses 
God, salvation, and heaven. Peter preached: "In 
none other is there salvation ; for neither is there any 
other name under heaven, that is given among men, 
wherein we must be saved;" 2 and Paul writes, "If 
any man loveth not the Lord, let him be anathema." 3 



This gospel was with Paul an exclusive one. He 
wrote the church at Corinth: "I determined not to 
know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him 
crucified. " i He wrote to the churches in Galatia : 
' ' Though we, or an angel from heaven, should 
preach unto you any gospel other than that which 
we preached unto you, let him be anathema. As we 
have said before, so say I now again, If any man 
preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which 
ye received, let him be anathema." 6 He did not mean 
by this that he never touched upon any other subject 
but that of the death of Christ, for he does in his 
epistles to the churches refer to many other subjects. 
But these were to Christians for Christian life. To 

1 Rom. x. 9. 2 Acts iv. 12. 3 1 Cor. xvi. 22. 

* 1 Cor. ii. 2. 5 Gal. i. 8, 9. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 237 

the world, Paul had but one gospel, that of salvation 
and the means of salvation — faith in the crucified 
and risen Christ. Paul therefore preached to the 
world no political or social reforms, although the 
world sorely needed them in every direction. Misery, 
poverty, ignorance, oppression, and vice prevailed as 
it does not to-day. Yet we do not read of any efforts 
by the apostles to institute reforms of any kind save 
in the church itself. This is significant and cannot 
be passed by or ignored by those who have regard for 
the authority of apostolic example and teachings. 
We must ask why this disregard of the crying evils 
of their time and this exclusive concentration upon the 
single theme for the world, of the gospel of the death 
and resurrection of Christ. 

The call to-day, we are told, is for "a practical 
gospel " — ' ' less theology and more practical Chris- 
tianity." We are told of the efficacy of "the gospel 
of a loaf of bread." We are asked for " more treas- 
ure on earth, even if we get less in heaven." We are 
assured our desire of converting men will by preaching 
such a gospel be greatly furthered ; that people will be 
so attracted to the church and to Christ as to reach 
the result aimed at ; that this is preaching the gospel. 
All this has a very taking sound. It seems to ap- 
peal to common sense, and attracts practical people, 
the benevolent especially. That we are to let our 
light so shine there is no disputing. That the gospel 
is commended by its humanitarian works is also clear. 
That an unphilanthropic gospel would not be the gos- 
pel of Christ is also true. No one will do aught but 
approve of every effort to help or benefit the needy, 
whether in physical or social need, and the church is 
foremost in all benevolences, and always has been. 
But we are now considering the specific work of the 
church, and the proposal to lessen this preaching 
and substitute for it humanitarian efforts of various 
kinds. 



238 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

Our reply to all this is that the gospel is the ac- 
complishment of all reforms, by its very nature, oper- 
ation, and effects. It is as expelling to all evil as 
light is to darkness. The method of the apostles was 
not to expel the darkness but to turn on the light. It 
is the logical and Scriptural way still. The testi- 
mony of history is conclusive as to the nature of the 
work of early Christianity and its effects. Guizot 
writes : ' ' Christianity was in no way addressed to 
the social condition of man. It distinctly disclaimed 
all interference with it. It commanded the slave to 
obey his master. It attacked none of the great evils, 
none of the gross acts of injustice by which the social 
system of the day was disfigured. Yet who is there 
but will acknowledge that Christianity has been one 
of the greatest promoters of civilization ? And where- 
fore ? — Because it has changed the interior structure 
of man, his opinions, his sentiments ; because it has 
regenerated his moral, his intellectual character." 

Here, then, is the way to the social amelioration 
of man. Change his "interior structure, " as Guizot 
terms it. This the gospel does, and nothing else ever 
pretends to accomplish it. The preachers of the old 
apostolic gospel have been the world's benefactors. 
This gospel has been the fountain of all blessing 
wherever it has been received, as history testifies. 
Where the gospel of the cross of Christ is proclaimed 
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, these 
humanitarian and philanthropic efforts are as sure to 
blossom out as spring is sure to come in response to 
the annual return of the great solar source of light and 
heat. This is true of the individual, the community, 
and the world. We claim the gospel of the crucified 
Christ is the greatest humanitarian influence the world 
has ever had. To put any external or humanitarian 
or philanthropic efforts first, is to plant the tree up- 
side down. Both roots and branches will wither. 
The gospel is minimized thereby. The pure gospel 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 239 

is withheld ; the state of man is concealed and also 
his danger ; the great sanctions of divine truth are 
unmentioned ; the power of the Holy Spirit is with- 
held ; conversions are few or weak ; and the church is 
reduced to a mere organization for temporal or social 
or benevolent purposes, having lost the distinctive 
character which Christ gave his church as a witness 
for his truth. The salt having lost its savor, men 
trample it under their feet, for the world knows 
true from false in religion. 

The church exists for a specific work — the proc- 
lamation in all the world of the gospel of the cross of 
Jesus Christ as declared by himself and his apostles. 
This we dare not neglect for any other mission, how- 
ever good. Christ said, "Ye have the poor always 
with you, and whensoever ye will ye can do them 
good; but me ye have not always." 1 Our opportu- 
nities and our time are limited. The spiritual work is 
above all others, and we cannot turn from it for any 
other work, no matter how valuable. The future is 
far above the present, and the salvation of men for 
the future is in Scripture made the great thing. 
Doing good in a physical or social way is not neces- 
sarily saving the soul for eternity and may not even 
contribute to it. When Jesus found the people, poor 
enough too they were, following him for the loaves 
and fishes, he discontinued giving them. Lord Shafts- 
bury has left this record : "I have been connected 
with many forms of humanitarian and benevolent 
works during fifty years, but I have not observed 
that men were thereby brought nearer to God." The 
Christian believes in eternity and its tremendous is- 
sues. It will make little difference in a short time 
what the material condition of each has been in this 
life, but it will make an eternal difference what his 
relation to God is. This, we believe, is established 
by faith in Christ, and only so. Therefore it is the 
one business of the church to preach Christ. 

*Mark. xiv. 7. 



24O CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

There is also a demand for another substitute for 
this gospel of the crucified and risen Christ. We are 
told the Sermon on the Mount and the other practical 
teachings of Jesus are gospel enough for the world, 
and to teach these to man. Undoubtedly if the world 
would live so, all would be well. But it has been 
shown that the experiment of all this has been tried. 
We have seen the most perfect system of ethics given 
to a specially prepared people by the most extraordi- 
nary agencies, accompanied by demonstrations of the 
supernatural to impress them, and help them observe 
it all, the greatest line of prophets and other ministers 
of its provisions. It was in a land secluded from 
contamination by the effects of the surrounding world; 
it was accompanied by temporal sanctions, which by 
blessings when they obeyed, and adversities when 
they disobeyed, made every motive of self-interest 
alive to its observance. All this was continued for 
centuries and worked out to a full and absolute dem- 
onstration. Heredity, environment, and development 
have done their best. Failure is written on the whole 
demonstration. The law was a failure in Israel even 
as a social experiment. Man cannot be so saved even 
socially, still less spiritually, as Paul plainly declares. 

Now the commands of Christ are infinitely above 
those of Moses. They are spiritual, and deal with 
looks and thoughts and purposes of the heart. 
Moses's commands under such conditions were not, 
and, as Paul tells us, could not be kept because of 
the weakness of the flesh, that is, of human nature. 
How, then, can we expect the spiritual commands of 
Christ to be kept by the same human nature ; for it 
is the same in every age and land. It has been shown 
how Christ enables man to do so, and when we follow 
his way, we may hope to succeed, but to work over 
and over the old useless experiment is worse than folly. 

The order for and of Christ's work is this : " Go ye 
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, bap- 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 24 1 

tizing them into the name of the Father and of the 
Son and of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe 
all things whatsoever I command you." 1 Here are two 
orders : first, make disciples ; second, teach them the 
commands of Christ. The teaching is for the dis- 
ciples. There is no command here or elsewhere to 
teach the commands of Christ to the unregenerate. 
There was no such teaching by the apostles, and Christ 
taught them himself to Israel only. But they are to 
be taught to the church. The Sermon on the Mount 
and the other teachings of Christ form the laws of the 
church. They are to be taught and obeyed. In this 
lies the purity and power of the church. To neglect 
these teachings is departing from Christ. This is the 
great lack of to-day. These teachings are even re- 
garded as impractical. Yet the apostles and the 
early churches literally observed them and prospered 
thereby. We must return again as believers to the 
life laid down for us by Our Lord and Master. 

To the church the apostles preached a far greater 
view of Christ than to Israel or the world. All he is 
to these he is to his people, and far more. In Christ's 
death for the church there is seen a choice of it, a 
relationship to it, an efficacy for it, and special pur- 
poses in it here and hereafter. The view of his 
people from the eternal past has been considered. 
The passage relating most pointedly to the relation of 
Christ in his death to the church is this : " Husbands, 
love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, 
and gave himself up for it ; that he might sanctify it, 
having cleansed it by the washing of water with the 
word, that he might present the church to himself a 
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any 
such thing ; but that it should be holy and without 
blemish. Even so ought husbands also to love their 
own wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his 
own wife loveth himself : for no man ever hated his 

l6 ' Matt, xxviii. 19. 



242 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT €TATE AND WORK. 

own flesh ; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as 
Christ also the church ; because we are members of 
his body." 1 

This is the husband dying for the wife. This is more 
than the shepherd dying for the sheep, or a man dying 
for his friends, or Christ dying in the place of guilty man, 
or even the king dying for his subjects. There is a 
peculiar closeness of relation and affection in the mo- 
tive, and a special purpose in the object which does 
not exist in the other two classes. 

This identity of Christ with his people has been in 
part shown. Aside from his being made in the like- 
ness of sinful flesh, he was made like unto his breth- 
ren also. He had not only the common humanity, 
but he had what all mankind do not have, — the na- 
ture of God, of which his people are partakers. Christ 
bore man's penalty of death for the original curse ; he 
bore Israel's curse of the violated law ; but his substi- 
tution for his people is far more. The identity of 
Christ with his people brought upon him the sense of 
shame and guilt for his people's sins. His attitude as 
surety for the sins of the world did not necessarily 
bring upon him this sense of guilt and shame, but 
only of responsibility. But as one of his people, he 
shared the feeling of the Father in the wrong-doing 
of his child, or, to use the exact Scriptural figure, the 
shame of the husband in the sins of his wife. There 
is a peculiar efficiency also in the death of Christ for 
his people. By the death of Christ the salvation of 
all is made possible, and the salvation of the church 
is made certain. Christ had purposes also in his 
death for his people which he had not for the world. 
Another peculiarity of the Scripture accounts of the 
scope of the death of Christ as affecting the church, 
is that it is spoken of as bought or purchased by 
his blood. ' ' The church of God which he pur- 
chased with his own blood ; " "A people for God's 
^ph. v. 25-31. 



CHRIST; IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 243 

own possession " (same word, purchased). * The idea 
is a redemption within a redemption, or, to use a par- 
able of Christ, the found treasure within the purchased 
field. 

The benefits secured to the believer by the death of 
Christ have been seen in the foregoing. They may 
be briefly seen in this Scripture : "If any man is in 
Christ, he is a new creature, the old things are 
passed away; behold they are become new." 2 God 
regards the believer as "in Christ." It is a place of 
holiness. God sees no sin in him. All has been 
charged to Christ, and all Christ's merits credited to 
him. He is "justified," that is, made right or right- 
eous. It is a place of security. "It is God that 
justifieth, who is he that condemneth ? . . . "Who 
shall separate us from the love of Christ ? " 3 

The resurrection of Christ was also far more to the 
church than to Israel or the world. The resurrection 
of Jesus is spoken of as a type of the Christian's state 
and life, ' ' that like as Christ was raised from the dead 
through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk 
in newness of life."* The Christian is spiritually a 
resurrected person, as if the believing thief had been 
buried with Christ literally in Joseph's tomb, and 
when Jesus rose had been raised with him and sent 
out to live out his life on earth. So is the Christian 
spiritually risen with Christ. All our hopes for the 
future depended on the resurrection of Jesus. ' ' But 
now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the first- 
fruits of them that are asleep." 5 His resurrection 
makes ours certain. The first sheaf assures the rest 
of the harvest and is a sample of the whole. The 
resurrection of Jesus is a type, or more, an exam- 
ple of the resurrection of his people. As he rose so 
will they. The descending angel, the opening graves, 
the quiet awakening, the rising in immortality, the 

1 Acts xx. 28 . 1 Peter ii. 9. 2 2 Cor. v. 17. 

8 Rom. viii. 33, 35. 'Rom. vi. 4. 6 1 Cor. xv. 20. 



244 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

same and yet not the same, with all the powers Jesus 
had and all the naturalness also we saw in him, are 
before us. 

The apostle preached also a living, personal, 
present Christ. They regarded him as an actual per- 
son having a body and a locality. Paul and John 
attest to seeing and hearing him since his ascension. 
This is the vital element of Christianity. It is a liv- 
ing and not a past and dead Christ we serve and 
trust in and look for. To think of Christ as a his- 
torical character only, is not enough to satisfy the 
claims of himself or his apostles for him. This is one 
phase of unbelief of to-day. Christ is regarded as 
one of several saviours, such as Confucius, Moham- 
med, Buddha, Zoroaster, and others. We repudiate 
the classing of Christ with any other, even as their 
superior. All these, if they ever lived at all, were 
men only, and are now dead, while Christ is a living 
being, and before him will Confucius and Mohammed 
and Zoroaster and all the so-called saviours appear 
in judgment, and he will assign them their places in 
eternity. 

The terms applied by the apostles to Christ show 
their appreciation of him. He is to them a most 
glorious being. They never hold up Christ as an 
object of pity and to be received from sympathy. 
His past sufferings, even, are not so used. Christ 
now is beyond the need of such consideration. He 
is represented under visible form and even described 
as to his appearance. John thus describes him : 
' ' One like unto a son of man clothed with a garment 
down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a 
golden girdle. And his head and his hair were white 
as white wool, white as snow ; and his eyes were as 
a flame of fire ; and his feet like unto burnished 
brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace ; and his 
voice as the voice of many waters. And he had in 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 245 

his right hand seven stars : and out of his mouth pro- 
ceeded a sharp two-edged sword : and his counte- 
nance was as the sun shineth in his strength. " l This 
agrees with the appearance seen by Paul. And there 
is no reason to doubt both were actual personal 
appearances of Christ. Paul speaks of having seen 
the Lord, and this was his general appearance. We 
see the same appearance as in Jesus in the transfigu- 
ration : ' ' He was transfigured before them and his 
face did shine as the sun, and his garments became 
white as the light." 2 So that we may believe that 
this was not only the same Christ, but that he was in 
his own proper, eternal state. 

The purpose of giving us a picture of the risen 
Christ is to impress us with his actual existence, 
identity, and personality. Christ is not a conception 
or a doctrine, but a person who has a bodily form and 
can be seen and has been handled and felt, as the 
apostles testifiy. We have no reason to believe he is 
any different now than he was after his resurrection 
during the time the apostles saw him. They speak of 
him as the same with whom they did eat and drink 
after he rose from the dead. A further reason for 
this picture being given us is that we may have an 
impression of his personality. We ( have no idea of 
what the earthly Jesus looked like. The pictures are 
wholly imaginative, and there is reason to believe are 
wide of the appearance Jesus must have had. But 
we are not to think of Christ as the rabbi of Judea. 
We shall never so see him. The view John gives 
is his appearance in which we shall know him in 
eternity. Further, this picture is that of a being of 
great dignity and glory. He is one to be thought of 
in greatest reverence and to be addressed accord- 
ingly. The sentimental terms of endearment some- 
times addressed to Christ are wholly out of place. 
The silly songs such as might be sung by lovers to 

1 Rev. i. 13-16. 'Matt. xvii. 2. 



246 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

each other, are seen to be worse than out of place, 
when compared with the dignity and reverence in 
such scenes as the following, a description which 
Jesus acknowledged as that of himself: " I saw the 
Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and 
his train filled the temple. Above him stood the 
seraphim ; each one had six wings ; with twain he 
covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, 
and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto an- 
other, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of 
hosts : the whole earth is full of his glory." 1 In such 
reverence Christ is to be regarded and addressed even 
by his nearest and dearest disciples. 

The attitude everywhere described of Christ in his 
ascension glory is that of sitting at the right hand of 
God. It is an exceedingly significant expression. It 
describes his attitude toward the past, his present 
office and work, and his and our future. It is the 
position of one who has finished his work. His great 
humiliation and its results are accomplished. There 
is very great joy from the satisfaction in successful 
effort. This Christ has. Christ is infinitely satisfied 
with his work as approved by the Father. His posi- 
tion is also an element of his present honor, power, 
and glory. The right hand of God is the next place 
in all these three to God himself. It expresses 
more than all else the dignity of Christ. There is also 
nearness to God the Father in this position. This he 
prayed for when he said, "Father, glorify thou me 
with thine own self, with the glory which I had with 
thee before the world was." 2 This is now fulfilled. 
The eternal state was "in the bosom of the Father." 
This may not correspond to it in all respects, but 
expresses more, the attitude of activity. In his pres- 
ent state Christ is not idle. 

Christ is on the right hand of God as inter- 
cessor and advocate. The Scriptures which teach 
I Isa. vi. 1-3. "John xvii. 5. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 247 

this are many : "It is Christ Jesus that died, yea, 
rather that was raised from the dead, who is at 
the right hand of God, who also ever maketh in- 
tercession for us." 1 Christ has all the requisites 
of an advocate. Such a position and office require 
that the advocate possess the right relationship to 
both the parties with whom he has had to do. He 
must have the wants of the supplicant not only in 
his mind but upon his heart. He must have ac- 
cess to, and influence with, the upper power, to 
present them rightly and effectively. He must have 
a sufficient plea and be able to secure the favors 
or rights wanted. All this Christ has. The plea 
Christ presents for us is spoken of in Scripture, 
as his blood. It means, as we have seen, his own 
life poured out as man's ransom. It answers every 
accusation which might be brought against the be- 
liever, whether true or false. It can make up for 
all deficiencies in any case, however great, even 
though it be a whole life misspent, or one coming at 
the last moment to Christ, as the thief upon the cross. 
It can call for the greatest gifts from God. Its power 
as a plea is so great that, when joined to the feeblest 
petition, however unworthy the offerer, it must pre- 
vail at the throne of infinite justice and power, still 
more at the throne of grace ; for it must be borne in 
mind that all Christ obtained and continues to secure 
for his people, while in exact accord with full jus- 
tice, so great is his plea, is asked for, not as justice, 
but as grace. Christ is not pleading at the judgment 
throne of sinners but at the mercy seat of saints. 

A beautiful picture is presented in the Apocalypse, 
of the presentation of the prayers of the people of 
God : "And another angel came and stood over the 
altar, having a golden censer ; and there was given 
unto him much incense, that he should add it unto the 
prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which 

1 Rom. viii. 34. 



248 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

was before the throne. And the smoke of the in- 
cense with the prayers of the saints went up before 
God out of the angel's hand." 1 This is during a 
special future time, but represents the offering up of 
the prayers of all God's people at all times. 

Christ's mediation is for his peoples' persons, sins, 
needs, prayers, and work. Their persons are his 
first care. The position of the believer has been 
considered. He is maintained in this position by and 
because of his identity with Christ. The believer in 
the sight of God is "in Christ," that is, the body of 
believers and Christ are one. The figures to express 
this are many. Christ is the corner-stone on which 
the church is the building. Christ is the vine, the 
believers being branches ; Christ is the husband, the 
church the wife ; Christ is the head, the church 
the body. All these express the closest identity. 
There is this view, however, to be taken of the medi- 
ation of Christ for his people as distinguished from 
their sins and prayers and needs and work individ- 
ually. The first is always spoken of in Scripture as 
a finished work which needs no renewing. 

The prayer of Christ before his death maybe taken 
as an illustration of his advocacy and intercession in 
general. These are the petitions in the prayer. ' ' I 
pray for them : I pray not for the world. . . . Keep 
them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they 
may be one, even as we are. . . . Keep them from 
the evil one. . . . Sanctify them in the truth, thy 
word is truth. . . . Neither for these alone do I pray, 
but for them also that believe on me through their 
word ; that they may all be one ; even as thou, Father, 
are in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us ; 
that the world may believe that thou didst send me. 
I will that where I am, they also may be with me ; 
that they may behold my glory which thou hast given 
me." 3 In brief, the desire of the heart of Jesus for 
his people was that they may be united, sanctified, 

1 Rev. viii. 3, 4. 2 John xviL 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 249 

made efficient, and glorified. It will be seen from 
this that the burden of Christ's intercession is first 
for their own sakes and also for the sake of the 
world. It is through the church he is to bless the 
world. He has done everything for the world which 
can be done. He has by his death brought it within 
the scope of grace, and has sent his Spirit to convince 
it of its need by convincing it of " sin, righteousness, 
and judgment," and now he leases his people to 
carry his message of mercy to it. It is therefore the 
great care of Christ to see that his people are kept 
right. This he does by his intercession, the Holy 
Spirit, and the means of grace. 

The intercession of Christ for his people is that 
they may be kept in his name. This is equivalent to 
that in his exhortation, ' ' Abide in me. " It is faith 
in him and faithfulness in adhesion to him. This 
union with Christ secures union with the Father — 
"one as we are." The sanctity of his people is the 
great subject of Christ's work and intercession. The 
prayer shows the great means of sanctification — 
"sanctifiy them through thy truth ; thy word is 
truth." The concern of Christ is that the word of 
God shall be kept before his people. The efficacy of 
the church depends upon its unity — "that they all 
may be one, that the world may believe that thou 
hast sent me." In life Jesus was continually urging 
his disciples to "love one another." Here in his in- 
tercessory prayer is the same wish. The final wish 
of the prayer is the presence of his people with him- 
self in glory. The share we in these latter days have 
in this prayer lies in the petition for " them that shall 
believe on me through their word." 

The intercession of Christ is also for his people 
individually, first for their sins : "And if any man sin, 
we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ 
the righteous." 1 The devil is called the accuser of 
the brethren ' ' which accuseth them before our God 

1 I John ii. 2. 



25O CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

day and night." 1 " Devil " and " slanderer " are the 
same word in Greek. Every slanderer, especially 
every slanderer of the people of Christ, is voicing the 
feelings of the devil. The blood of Jesus is the plea 
which answers all charges in heaven. It can and does 
cleanse our consciences from condemnation. Akin to 
this is the intercession of Christ for the believer in 
his times of trial. Such was his intercession for Peter 
which we may take as illustrative of all : " Simon, 
Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he 
might sift you as wheat : but I made supplication for 
thee, that thy faith fail not : and do thou, when once 
thou hast turned again, stablish thy brethren.". 2 Here 
Satan asked and obtained permission to sift this 
chosen band; for the word "you"' is plural while 
' ' thee " is singular. Christ undoubtedly interceded 
for all, but out of them he makes special mention of 
one specially weak on a certain vaunted point, and 
soon to be tempted on a trying occasion ; and so 
Christ said to Peter ; "I have prayed for thee." He 
singles out special persons for special intercession and 
care at critical times in their lives. Christ foresees 
these times of sifting or searching, and knows the 
certain result if we are left to our own boasted conse- 
cration and love and holiness and determination to 
hold out and to be faithful to the end, and all this we 
so often utter or think. If it were not for the faith- 
fulness of our loving, patient Intercessor, we would 
make awful and shameful wreck of our professions. 
But, " I made supplication for thee that thy faith fail 
not," is the anchor which holds us when all else has 
given way. 

There is one kind of intercession our Lord said 
needed not to be made : "In that day ye shall ask in 
my name : and I say not unto you, that I will pray 
the Father for you ; for the Father himself loveth 
you." 3 This is not a declaration that he will not 

1 Rev. xii. 10. a Luke xxii. 31-34. 'John xvi. 26. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 25 1 

pray the Father for us but that the Father does not so 
require to be interceded with. The use of the name of 
Christ, however, is equivalent to his advocacy in per- 
son. The believer has two advocates. ' ' He will 
give you another comforter [paraclete, or advocate, 
same word] that he may be with you forever, even 
the Spirit of truth. " l 

Paul refers to the office and effect of the advocacy 
of the Holy Spirit in the believer in these words : ' ' And 
in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity : 
for we know not how to pray as we ought ; but the 
Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groan- 
ings which cannot be uttered ; and he that searcheth 
the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, 
because he maketh intercession for the saints accord- 
ing to the will of God. " 2 The prayers which are in- 
spired of the Holy Spirit need no further advocacy. 
In these two advocates, Christ and the Holy Spirit, we 
have the common figures of the counselor and barrister. 
The one advising privately and preparing for the case 
and inspiring the whole movement, and the other pre- 
senting publicly in court the case as thus prepared ; both 
in communication with each other and devoted to the 
interests of the client. Such a case at the high court 
of grace is certain of success. Here, then, are four 
great elements of power in the believer's prayers, the 
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the use of the name of 
Christ, the personal intercession of Christ, and the 
love of God himself for the believer. 

The apostles not only preached a glorified 
Christ in heaven, but Christ present in each of his 
people. They express this truth in the phrase, 
"Christ in you." The former relationship of being 
"in Christ" we have considered. It relates to our 
standing, where we are, as seen by God — a position 
secured by the death of Christ. But the second 

1 Johnxiv. 16, 17. 8 Rom. viii. 26. 



252 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

phrase, " Christ in you," expresses something far dif- 
ferent. It is a matter of fact so declared of every 
Christian — ' ' Know ye not as to your own selves, 
that Jesus Christ is in you ? unless indeed ye be repro- 
bates. " 1 Unless the person is a reprobate, Christ is 
in him. This may not be a matter of consciousness, 
but it follows from the fact of his being "in Christ." 
' ' Of his fulness have we all received and grace for 
grace. " 2 It is not a part of Christ in each as in the 
Old Testament believers, but all of Christ in every 
believer. This is a great mystery as Paul declares. 8 

The natural figure is followed in the Scriptures. 
It is spoken of as being "born of God," "born of 
the Spirit, " all in the sense of conception. Paul fol- 
lows this by intimating a still further resemblance to 
the natural figure : ' ' My little children, of whom I 
am again in travail until Christ be formed in you. " * 
There is the infancy of the new creature, and growth, 
and finally the "full-grown man, the measure of the 
stature of the fulness of Christ." The whole is spoken 
of as another and a second life, which the believer 
lives ; a person within a person, a life within a life, 
growing up into all his being day by day, and absorb- 
ing and controlling all his faculties, and finally as a 
butterfly from the chrysalis, emerging into the life of 
eternity. 

All this is not without resistance, especially from 
within. Not only Satan but the flesh is the antago- 
nist of the new life. ' ' For the flesh lusteth against the 
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ; for these are 
contrary the one to the other ; that ye may not do 
the things that ye would." 5 Here, "Christ in you," 
is called "the Spirit," and this is the usual name in 
Scripture for it. The struggle, especially in the early 
stages, is very great and painful. It is described by 
Paul in the seventh of Romans, where he admits his 

1 2 Cor. xiii. 5. 2 John i. 16. 3 Col. i. 26, 27. 

*Gal. iv. 19. 6 Gal. v. 17. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 253 

identity with both natures, and speaks of each as "I." 
If these two natures are kept in mind, the passage 
will be understood. The secret of victory is given us 
in this scripture : ' ' Reckon ye also yourselves to be 
dead unto sin, but alive unto God, in Jesus Christ. 
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that 
we should obey the lusts thereof ; neither present 
your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteous- 
ness ; but present yourselves unto God, as alive from 
the dead, and your members as instruments of right- 
eousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion 
over you, for ye are not under law but under grace." * 

The effect of the presence of Christ in the be- 
liever is to reproduce Christ himself so far as he is 
given full control. All the graces of Christ are in 
embryo in each believer and only need to be de- 
veloped. The full state is that expressed by Paul : 
' ' I have been crucified with Christ ; yet I live ; and 
yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me." 2 This is 
the ideal state of the Christian. 

The whole work of God in the believer may be 
summed up in the three terms (misused in the natural 
view): heredity, environment, and development, in 
their spiritual application. He is born of God, that 
is the believer's heredity ; old things are passed away, 
all things are become new, that is his environment ; 
he grows up into Christ, that is his development. 

The work of Christ in this age relates also to 
Israel, the church, and the world, collectively. Israel 
had a great place in the spread of the gospel in the 
apostles' days. Not only the Jews but also the other 
tribes were found everywhere. They were the seed- 
bed in which the first plantings of the gospel took 
root. They were the first visited in every place by 
the apostles, and to them was first offered the gospel. 
They accepted of it by thousands. Those thus con- 
verted to the gospel, furnished as they were like Paul 

1 Rom. vi. 11-14. 2 Gal. ii. 20. 



2 54 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

with the teachings of Scripture, were the fittest to do 
the work of the missionary of the cross. The Israelite 
was the merchant of the middle ages. He was the 
common carrier of the world. The merchant and the 
missionary were often one, as in the case of Lydia, a 
seller of purple, and Aquila and Priscilla, makers of 
tents. Christ foretold their fate nationally by which 
they were still further dispersed: "There shall be 
great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this 
people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword 
and shall be led captive into all the nations ; and 
Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until 
the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. " 1 Their spiritual 
state during the succeeding centuries is declared by 
Paul : "For I would not, brethren, have you igno- 
rant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own con- 
ceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, 
until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in ; and so 
all Israel shall be saved. " 2 Both these prophecies 
have been fulfilled. The change evidently took place 
after the breaking up of their worship and nationality. 
They are to remain so until near the end. Their 
restoration is to be as Paul tells us, the precurser of a 
mighty blessing to earth. They are witnesses to the 
truth and of one only living and true God, the Scrip- 
tures, and Christ, and his gospel. Next to Jesus as 
the greatest proof of Christianity is Israel. 

The work of Christ in the present age also relates 
to the church as a body. The establishment of the 
church as a family under Abraham and as a nation 
under Moses has been seen. The formation of the 
church as a great universal spiritual body is the work 
of Christ in the present age. The word "church" 
means " called out," and also "called together," as a 
secondary meaning. It is therefore a body called out 
of the mass and kept separated. Its peculiar rela- 
1 Luke xxi. 23, 24. ■ Rom. xi. 25. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 255 

tions to Christ will be seen by the terms applied to it. 
It is called, the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, 
the Temple of the Holy Ghost, the Kingdom of 
Heaven, and the Kingdom of God. These are in a 
sense synonymous but not coterminous. They ex- 
press enlarging spheres as given in the order named. 
In the term ' ' the Body of Christ " there is the 
closest possible identity expressed. It is identity of 
origin, nature, mission, experiences, and destiny. 
The term "the Bride" expresses the same identity 
but differently. In the former the natural relations 
are subjective ; in the latter objective. There is, 
also, another difference in the use of these two terms. 
The former expresses the earthly relationship of the 
church to Christ. The feet walk the earth although 
the head is in heaven. There is also the idea of 
service connected with the figure of the body. This 
is seen in Paul's well-known chapter on spiritual 
gifts : ' ' Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally 
members thereof." 1 The other term, "the Bride," 
expresses mutual fellowship. Lange writes thus upon 
this word : — 

" The Bride of the Lord is in accordance with a standing 
Biblical view, based upon deep and essential spiritual relations, 
the contrast of spiritual receptivity and spiritual creative 
power is the Christian church." 2 

This figure has also a future meaning. It looks to 
the marriage and the fellowship which follows. 
"The Temple of the Holy Ghost" expresses the 
place of the church with reference to the whole body 
of the saved and the relation of the whole to God 
the Holy Spirit. " Built upon the foundation of the 
apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the 
chief corner stone ; in whom each several building, 
fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in 
the Lord ; in whom ye also are builded together for 

1 1 Cor. xii. 27. 2 Commentary, Revelation, p. 245. 



256 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

a habitation of God in the Spirit." 1 The entire body 
of God's people is here compared to a temple in 
which "the several buildings" represent the various 
companies of the saved. The place of the church is 
the most holy place, "a habitation of God." All 
these figures express the very highest place not only 
above all earth but above all beings of any world or 
age. Christ has but one Body, but one Bride, but 
one Holy of Holies. 

The secret relationship of Christ to his church in 
this age is illustrated by this scripture : "I saw seven 
golden candlesticks and in the midst of the candlesticks 
one like unto a son of man. . . . He had in his right 
hand seven stars. . . . The seven stars are the angels 
of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks are 
seven churches." 2 This is a representation of the at- 
titude and office of Christ toward his church during the 
present age. By the ministries of the church and 
the supply of the Holy Spirit he keeps the flame of 
the church's graces glowing. 

A noticeable feature of the Epistles is the fewness 
of exhortations to believers to engage in what is 
termed now, " Christian work. " There are exhorta- 
tions to give to help the needy, especially in the 
church. There are general directions as to ' ' serv- 
ing the Lord," "patient continuance in well-doing," 
1 ' abounding in the work of the Lord," not to be weary 
in well-doing. The epistles to those set aside to the 
work, as Timothy and Titus, have also such direc- 
tions, but for the church at large those quoted are 
about the kind given. The great urgings of all the 
Epistles is to knowledge of Christ and holiness of 
life. The apostles were most anxious to have their 
people holy. They were more zealous to secure true 
believers than a multitude of them. They cared more 
for quality than numbers. A pure, loving church was 
more to them than a large one. There is a lesson for 
*Eph. ii. 19-22. 2 Rev. i. 13, 16, 20. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 257 

us to-day in this great fact. Purity of doctrine, the 
energy and life and power of the Holy Spirit, are 
the great sources of Christian activity. Where these 
are there is no lack of workers, and where these are 
not, urgings may induce some to work, but their work 
will be lifeless and fruitless. We need to return to 
the apostolic plan and endeavor to bring about a 
return of purity of faith and life in the church. From 
these will flow a stream of missionary and other ac- 
tivities which will bless the world. The greatest 
reason, however, for this singular omission is that 
the people of God are first in the heart of Christ and 
the apostles. The Bible is, as has been remarked, 
all, or nearly all, about God's people or to them. In 
looking back to the beginning, we see they were the 
great objects of divine contemplation. God's people 
themselves, rather than what he does by them or 
gains from them, are upon the heart of Christ. Not 
ours, but us, is his desire. 



The term ' ' kingdom, " as applied to the work of 
Christ, designates its sphere, time, conditions, and 
principles, preparation for, its people, and its ruling 
powers. It has the same threefold application we 
have observed in the Gospels and Epistles, as to the 
work of Christ. There is a kingdom for Israel, the 
church, and mankind generally. It has also a past, 
present, and future aspect. All which shows it is a 
subject which requires careful study. The kingdom 
is spoken of as offered to Israel by Christ as their 
Messiah, the Son of David, in which he was the King 
of the Jews and the King of Israel, and for claiming 
which he was put to death. This is the subject of 
all the Old Testament prophecies, and to this Israel 
ever looked forward. It is spoken of in this scrip- 
ture : ' ' Many shall come from the east and the west 
and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob 

17 



258 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

in the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the king- 
dom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness." 1 
This kingdom, we have seen, Israel lost by rejection, 
or rather they lost the immediate privilege of it, for 
it has a prophetic aspect to be considered later. 
The second aspect of the kingdom is that which 
is to come, as in this passage spoken in connection 
with the end of the world or age : " Then shall the 
righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom 
of their Father." 2 It is always the future kingdom 
which is meant when it is spoken of as the Father's 
or in connection with the Father, as in the Lord's 
prayer : ' ' Our Father which art in heaven . . . Thy 
kingdom come." The word " kingdom " without any 
possessive is also applied to the future aspect of the 
kingdom. 

The terms " kingdom of heaven" and "kingdom 
of God " are in a general sense synonymous, yet there 
is a difference. The former is applied to the earthly 
and visible aspect, the latter to the spiritual or eternal 
aspects of the kingdom. Both are applied to the 
church as representing the phase of the kingdom 
now existing. The church is part of the kingdom. 
It is the governing or inspiring power as distinguished 
from the subjects ol the kingdom. It means a sov- 
ereignty. To gain the kingdom is to gain a place of 
honor in it. The word ' ' kingdom " is applied to those 
who acquire a place in it, the principles which govern 
it, the right or privilege of entering it, and its coming 
and course. Although the kingdom is far greater and 
future, still as the church is composed of those who 
shall possess the kingdom, the same principles apply 
to both in a measure. 

The condition and history of the church as a phase 
of the kingdom is declared by Christ in the seven 
parables of the kingdom : The Sower, The Tares, The 
Mustard Plant, The Leaven, The Hid Treasures, The 

1 Matt, viii .11,12. 8 Matt, xiii . 43. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 259 

Pearl, the Net. 1 These seven parables represent 
the kingdom in its embryonic or formative state. They 
must be considered together, and as covering the 
same period. Some of these are explained by Christ, 
as The Sower and The Tares and The Net. These 
give us the outline of the whole, of which the remain- 
ing furnish further details. We see from the three 
mentioned that this time is to be, in its inception, 
progress, and close, a mixed state of affairs. The 
seed sown is to be received only by part of the field, 
and is to be mingled with tares even where it is re- 
ceived, and these are to continue to the close, when 
the four diverse results of the sowing are found, the 
tares and wheat are growing together, and the net con- 
tains good fish and bad. It is a well-known principle 
of interpretation that obscure scriptures are to be ex- 
plained by those clearly understood. With this in 
mind the parables of the Mustard Plant, Leaven, Hid 
Treasure, and Pearl, must agree with the Sower and 
the Tares and Net. The Mustard Plant is not a nat- 
ural symbol of anything perfect. Whether it was the 
tree or the plant of that name, neither are conspicuous 
for size or beauty or longevity. That which charac- 
terizes it is a small beginning, rapid growth, and, as 
compared with garden plants, large size. The fowls 
are never used in Scripture as symbols of good, 
but the reverse. Here is the rapid extension of 
the visible church and the sheltering of forms of evil 
by it, or rather such forms of evil coming into it. All 
this agrees with history. 

The symbol used in the parable of the Leaven is 
one of the most fully explained of any in Scripture. 
In the Mosaic law it was commanded not to be 
offered in Sacrifice, and at the passover was to be put 
entirely away. The one instance where it is used, 
the wave loaves, is a type of the conditions of this 
veiy age we are discussing, as we noted. It is in- 

1 Matt. xiii. 



26o CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

credible that Jesus who came to fulfil the law should 
so disregard its teachings on such a point as to take 
this divinely commanded symbol of evil and make it a 
type of good. It is also incredible that, knowing the 
meaning the Israelite attached to this symbol, he 
should, without a word of explanation, use it, mean- 
ing thereby the opposite of what they understood and 
had a right to understand from the command of God. 
The meaning Jesus attached to leaven we have from 
his own words as follows : " Beware of the leaven of 
the Pharisees and Sadducees. Then understood they 
how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of 
bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sad- 
ducees." * Paul also so used this symbol : " Know ye 
not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump ? 
Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, 
even as ye are unleavened. For our passover also 
hath been sacrificed, even Christ : wherefore let us 
keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the 
leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the un- 
leavened bread of sincerity and truth." 8 

After this explicit teaching of Christ and his apos- 
tles, and the Scripture use, as seen in the Mosaic law, 
sound principles of exegesis demand that we use it 
the same way, and interpret the leaven as meaning 
evil, and only evil. 

The remaining three parables were spoken to the 
disciples apart, the others being to the multitudes as 
well as the disciples. The Hid Treasure is the church 
which Christ finds in the field, which he has before ex- 
plained is the world. In spite of the failure of the 
sowing to be received by all, and the presence of tares 
among the grain, and the defective growth of the 
visible church, and sheltering of evil, and the gradual 
leavening by evil doctrine and practices, there remains 
the church which Christ had in mind from the begin- 
ning, and for which he planned the redemption of the 
!Matt. xvi. ii, 1 2. i i Cor. v. 6-8. 






CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 26 1 

world, and came and died. The parable of the Pearl 
refers to the character which belongs to it. Such are 
like the merchant. They seek the best of spiritual 
things to which Christ applies pearls as a symbol : 
' ' Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither 
cast your pearls before the swine. " * It is that which 
Christ urged when he said, ' ' Seek ye first the king- 
dom of God and his righteousness." 2 The last parable 
confirms all the previous parables in this interpreta- 
tion. The good fish and the bad are found in the 
net, are separated, and this in the end of the age. 
The gospel net has gathered a mixed haul as we see it 
to-day, and as all church history declares. From 
these seven parables of the kingdom we gather that 
the kingdom in the present age is to be in a state of 
imperfection, the good in admixture with evil, and 
this to continue to the end of the world, or age. This 
is analogous to the spiritual condition of the individual, 
in whom the flesh remains until the end, and wars with 
the spirit. It also follows the analogous course of 
Israel as a nation. It is also confirmed by facts. 
The history of the church presents this state from the 
beginning. 

The beginnings of all this are apparent in the 
apostolic church. There is dissension over the dis- 
tribution of the bounty of the church, and contention 
between Paul and Barnabas, and also Peter. We 
see the inroads of heresies. Later we find Paul re- 
buking the Gentile churches for the grossest scandals, 
as fornication. The same state of things is shown by 
the letters to the seven churches. There is declining 
love in Ephesus, the harboring of teachers of heresy 
and evil practices in Pergamum, the suffering of an 
adulterous prophetess in Thyatira, deadnessof activity 
in Sardis, and lukewarmness or great worldliness in 
Laodicea. Only two of the seven escape reproof. 
Two have no words of praise. Sardis has only a few 

1 Matt. vii. 6. "Matt. vi. 33. 



262 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

left true to Christ, and Laodicea is condemned and 
threatened with rejection. Church history shows an 
increasing state of evil as the centuries go on, until 
Christianity was imperialized under Constantine, which 
was simply baptized heathenism, and which finally de- 
veloped the monstrous papal apostasy which lasted as 
a system of persecution for over twelve hundred years, 
and continues yet to hold in ignorance and supersti- 
tion a seventh of the world's population. This 
came from the Christian church. It was all this 
Christ had in mind when he spake the parables of the 
Mustard Plant and the Leaven, and no one who has 
read history, whether church or political, will hesitate 
to acknowledge that the prophecy has been so far 
fulfilled. 

Besides the present spiritual and imperfect phase 
of the kingdom, Christ and the apostles everywhere 
speak of the kingdom as future, and connected with 
another age, and of a totally different character from 
the state of things now existing. Not even the uni- 
versal spread of the condition of the most favored Chris- 
tian lands would satisfy the descriptions of the coming 
kingdom. That the kingdom has not come is admitted. 
Indeed, this is one of the claims of destructive criticism. 
The Kingdom prophecies, it is claimed, have not been 
fulfilled in nearly two thousand years. Boastings of a 
coming, victorious condition of the church are merely 
speculations, having no Scriptural foundation. If the 
church, either visible or invisible, or any state of 
things which it controls or inspires, is the kingdom, then 
the Kingdom predictions have proved abortive, and 
we are left with a Bible whose most solemn and 
greatest and most vital part is by the lapse of time 
shown to be fallacious. But on the view that this 
kingdom was and is still future and supernatural, we 
are on sure ground, and all the assaults of this latest 
and most mischievous of all attempts to undermine 
the faith of the people of God come to naught. In- 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 263 

deed, it but adds to the force of the proof of the truth 
of Scripture ; for it is itself an evidence of the fulfil- 
ment of the predictions of Scripture which were made 
as to these latter days. There is good also coming 
even out of the evil. For this destructive criticism 
while attacking the foundations of faith is forcing a new 
examination of the Messianic kingdom, and insisting 
upon the meaning intended by the writers. 

These two phases of the kingdom are presented 
in the following Scripture : ' ' And being asked by the 
Pharisees when the kingdom of God cometh, he 
answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh 
not with observation : neither shall they say, Lo, 
here ! or, there ! for lo, the kingdom of God is within 
you [Margin, in the midst of you]. And he said unto 
the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall de- 
sire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and 
ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, Lo, 
there ! Lo, here ! go not away, nor follow after them : 
for as the lightning, when it lighteneth out of the one 
part under the heaven, shineth unto the other part un- 
der heaven ; so shall the Son of man be in his day." 1 

Professor Hermann Cremer thus writes of the 
Basilia, or kingdom : — 

" So far as the saving designs of God have already found 
their realization with and in Christ, it is said, ' The kingdom 
of God is within you'— compare John i. 26. ' In the midst of 
you standeth one whom ye know not ; The kingdom of God 
is come upon you.' But so far as this realization first be- 
comes manifest when Christ's work is completed, the kingdom 
of God is spoken of as yet to be revealed, with the tacit 
assumption that it can only take place after the appearance 
of Christ. In this sense it is future for Christ also. When 
therefore Christ says, ' My kingdom is not of this world,' his 
meaning is that the present order of things does not set forth 
the glory and saving purpose of God." a 

1 Luke xvii. 20-24. 

8 Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek, Edinburgh, 
1872, pp. 1 1 1-113. 



264 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

Dr. Auberlin thus comments upon this passage : — 

" It is true that it was necessary for our Lord to oppose 
the carnal expectations of the nation, and to insist, with 
double emphasis, on the spiritual internal conditions of par- 
taking in the kingdom ; namely, repentance and faith. But 
he by no means dissolves the kingdom into mere inwardness ; 
but it is to him, as Schmidt expresses it, 1 the divine order of 
things which is realized by him, the Messiah, and which de- 
velops itself from within outwardly. Thus the kingdom of 
Christ has different periods ; it is come in Christ ; it spreads 
in the world by internal, spiritual, hidden processes ; but as 
a kingdom in the strict sense of the word, in royal glory, it 
shall only come with the Parousia of Christ, even as we are, 
according to Christ's command, to pray, even now, day by 
day, Thy kingdom come." 2 

We have in the letters to the seven churches the 
light thrown upon the attitude of Christ in his pres- 
ent state toward his people. It is the same as when 
he used the whip of small cords in the temple. It is 
Jehovah with his new Israel in chastening. Here are 
some of his messages of this kind: "Repent and do 
the first works ; or else I will come to thee and will 
move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou re- 
pent. . . . Repent, therefore, or else I come to thee 
quickly, and I will make war against them with the 
sword of my mouth. ... I will kill her children 
with death ; and all the churches shall know that I 
am he that searcheth the reins and hearts ; and I will 
give unto each of you according to your works. . . . 
I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what 
hour I will come upon thee. . . . Because thou art 
lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spue thee 
out of my mouth." His parting message was, "As 
many as I love I rebuke and chasten." Christ has 
not changed. He is " the same yesterday, to-day, and 
forever." Nor has his method changed. He has 
often, since the days of the apostles, punished his 
people terribly, to the extent of sweeping away 

iBib. Theo. N. T. I., p. 325. 

*" Daniel and the Revelation," Edinburgh, 1856, p. 324. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 265 

entire communities and churches. We may be as- 
sured the present church, unless she repents and 
returns to primitive Christianity, will not escape 
what Israel received for her apostasy, and also the 
apostolic churches and the whole of Christendom 
since. 

The Roman empire long before its overthrow 
was professedly Christian. In 423 A. D. , a law of 
Theodosius II, states there were no more pagans in 
the empire. It was upon this professed but worldly 
Christianity was poured out the vials of the barbarian 
invasion from the north. Following the destruction 
of paganism came in the sixth century the worship of 
saints and angels and relics, and following this second 
stage in the apostasy was sent the invasion of the 
Saracens. Later, following further decline of the 
faith, came the invasion of the Turks. The country 
of the prophets and apostles alike has been under 
this ' ' abomination which maketh desolate " from that 
time to this. Christ has many ways of chastising his 
people, and we must not think the church of to-day 
is exempt from his usual course of procedure. This 
chastisement could come from several sources. The 
uprising so often spoken of as the social revolution, 
may be Christ's method of dealing with the church or 
it may come from without, from the heathen hordes, 
two thirds of the world, now fast arming for war. 

In considering the work of Christ in the present 
age as to the world, we must note the purposes, 
the agencies selected, and the extent of the work. 
We shall then be able to see the ultimate plan in- 
volved. Christ's purpose is seen by recalling the great 
view presented by John in his gospel of Christ as the 
Saviour of the world, and the world-wide command 
given the apostles by the ascending Saviour. Christ's 
direction of the work of evangelization of the world 
is both direct and indirect. The latter is seen in his 



266 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

allowing the breaking out of persecution in Jerusalem 
at the death of Stephen by which they were all scat- 
tered abroad except the apostles. The twelve do not 
seem to have grasped the idea of a world-wide evan- 
gelization until sometime after Pentecost. They re- 
proved Peter for going to the house of the Gentile 
Cornelius, and on his reporting the reception of the 
gospel by him and his house, and the outpouring of 
the Holy Ghost upon this company of Gentiles, they 
express their surprise, saying, ' ' Then to the Gen- 
tiles also hath God granted repentance unto life." 1 
The direct work of Christ for the world is seen in 
the mission of Paul. He was converted directly by 
Christ's own voice, and so comissioned and received 
his commission and a new revelation of the gospel. 
His life reads like a sequel to the life of Jesus. 

Christ himself is not represented as engaging per- 
sonally in seeking, following, and beseeching sinners 
to be at peace with God. He does this wholly through 
the believers and the agencies of the church. It is 
the Spirit and the Bride which say, Come. The 
order of the gospel is God the Father by Christ 
through the Holy Spirit in the believer, appealing to 
sinners by the truth to be reconciled to God through 
Jesus Christ. It is worthy of note in passing, that ail 
the calls to sinners in this age to repentance are in the 
singular : ' ' Him that cometh unto me, " "He that be- 
lieveth, " "If any man sin," "If any man hear my 
voice." This indicates the nature of the gospel work. 
It is to be man by man, an individual call rather 
than national. The church gathers not by nations 
but by individuals. 

The preparation of the world for the gospel was 
most remarkable. Greek philosophy had made this 
people keen to hear any new thing, and their own 
schools of philosophy were now losing their power 
over the minds of their followers. Politically and 

1 Acts xi. 1 8. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 267 

physically the world was ready for the rapid propa- 
gation of the message. It was practically under one 
government, and in a stable and peaceful state. The 
great Roman roads and lines of commerce went every- 
where. The Israelite's place in the world's evangeli- 
zation has been seen. There is clearly discernible a 
divine and universal plan in the preparation of the 
world for the gospel. The three great peoples of 
the world furnished their respective parts : Rome, the 
physical ; Greece, intellectual ; and Israel, the spir- 
itual. Thus was prepared the threefold way for the 
gospel. All this helps us to see how the disciples of 
Christ literally fulfilled his parting message — " Preach 
the gospel to the whole creation." Paul tells us the 
gospel " was preached in all creation under heaven." 1 
Pliny states that there was no family of men where 
the praises of Jesus were not sung. The whole world 
was evangelized. This, if we do not misread history, 
has been done again and again. The world has been 
more than once evangelized since the days of the 
apostles. We are now in the midst of such a world- 
wide movement at home and abroad, to which atten- 
tion is often and well called. The hundreds of 
foreign missionary societies, with thousands of mis- 
sionaries in every land ; the thousands of other organ- 
izations of an auxiliary kind ; the movement among 
young men, students, young people, and children ; the 
publication of hundreds of millions of Bibles, and 
uncounted millions of Christian books and papers; 
the thousands of Christian educational institutions, 
— all are remarkable and peculiar to our day. There 
are still greater movements before us. The gospel 
is to be preached to all nations, and the Spirit is to 
be poured forth upon all flesh. In all this we see 
Christ directing his work and fulfilling his promise, 
' • I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
age." 2 

i Col. i. 23. 2 Matt. xxviii. 20, margin. 



268 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 



The view of the world since Christ, presents a very 
mixed picture. It is not a story of constant victory 
of the gospel. The world, as has been seen, has been 
once, and we believe several times, evangelized. But 
in each case the revival was followed by a falling 
away. Sometimes this was an almost universal 
apostasy as in the case of the Roman church. The 
north of Africa, once Christianity's stronghold, is to- 
day Mohammedan. The lands preached over by the 
apostles are to-day in a state little better than heathen- 
ism, and we are sending missionaries to them. That 
part of the continent of Europe traversed by Paul 
with such zeal and love is to-day largely wrapped in 
papal superstition, and worst of all two thirds of the 
world is in pagan darkness, and all this after nineteen 
hundred years of gospel work begun by apostles 
and followed by the best and most self-sacrificing of 
earth. It is sometimes charged to the church that 
this state of affairs exists. Doubtless the church has 
not done her full duty, and as a body and as individu- 
als we must all own our failure. But the blame can- 
not be laid wholly at the doors of the church. There 
is often much unjust and cruel censure of churches and 
ministers and Christians for the want of more success 
in converting the world or special localities to Christ. 
There have been places and times when all has been 
done by the church to save the surrounding mass, and 
yet all have not been converted. Not even apostles, 
with all their mighty power and miracles, could effect 
the conversion of all. Paul, and even Jesus himself, 
turned from many places, leaving them to the course 
they chose. 

Any true faith in Christ must believe that he has 
been directing the affairs of the church and especially 
this part of his work during these nineteen hundred 
years. We must also believe that his plan is working 






CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 269 

all this time. Any other view than this would strip 
God of his power of control and leave his actings at 
the mercy of whatever mishaps might spring up in 
the path of progress. God lives and reigns, and 
all is working on in his great plan whether it agrees 
with our ideas of what ought to be or not. It is use- 
ful constantly to remember this : ' ' My thoughts are 
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, 
saith the Lord." * Christ fully declared such a state of 
affairs as we see existing now and during the past 
centuries. The predictions of himself and his apos- 
tles agree with this condition. There are reasons, 
deep and fundamental, lying in the very nature of 
things why this condition exists and will exist until 
the end of the age. It is not merely an arbitrary 
edict or the result of neglect by the church or any 
other adverse influences. The same great causes 
which we have seen operating from the beginning, 
operate still, and will until the whole great demon- 
stration is finished. 

The first great fact we must consider is the nature 
of that called "the world." There are three words 
so translated. These mean respectively, the age, 
the habitable earth, and mankind. The word is used 
in two senses : First, as we generally use it, in a 
neutral sense as to moral character ; and second, 
as meaning something evil or defective. We have al- 
ready considered Christ's relation as to his death and 
work for the world. But besides this world there is 
an evil age and an evil thing called "the world," 
and an evil spiritual influence corresponding to these. 
This age or world is spoken of by Paul as " this pres- 
ent evil world," and he urges us to "be not con- 
formed to this world," and speaks of Satan as "the 
god of this world." He refers to its character, ruler, 
and effect in these words : " And you did he quicken, 
when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins, 
wherein aforetime ye walked according to the course 
ilsa. lv. 8. 



2/0 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

of this world, according to the prince of the power of 
the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of 
disobedience." 1 

The contents of this world are thus described by 
John, "All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh 
and the lust of the eyes, and the vain glory of life, is 
not of the Father, but is of the world." 2 The world 
as a body of persons is spoken of in contrast with the 
church, and as in antagonism to it : "If the world 
hateth you, ye know that it hated me before it 
hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would 
love its own ; but because ye are not of the world, 
but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore 
the world hateth you." 3 This world the Christian is 
warned against : " Love not the world, neither the 
things that are in the world. If any man love the 
world, the love of the Father is not in him." * It is 
evident from these scriptures that the world in this 
sense is of the satanic trinity, — "the world, the 
flesh, and the devil," and can no more be converted 
than can the devil himself. 

Another great principle announced by Christ is in 
these words : ' ' Wide is the gate and broad is the way, 
that leadeth to destruction, and many be they that 
enter thereby. For narrow is the gate and straitened 
the way, that leadeth unto life, and few there be 
that find it." 6 There is no intimation in any of the 
after words of Christ or the apostles that the broad 
way was to become any narrower or the narrow way 
broader, or that the respective number of journeyers 
was to be changed. All the history of the church, 
and all our observation as individuals, confirm this 
account of the character and dimensions of these two 
ways and their companies. The New Testament writ- 
ers always speak of the church as a little flock, sheep 
among wolves, wheat among tares, as pilgrims and 

1 Eph. ii. I, 2. 2 I John ii. 16. 'John xv. 18, 19. 

4 1 John ii. 15. 6 Matt. vii. 13, 14. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 27 1 

strangers, and hold out no promise of earthly aggran- 
dizement, either individually or as a church in numer- 
ical or political influence. They are pointed to 
another age and life as the time and place of reward.' 
The course of the church in this age, Christ every- 
where declares, is to be like his own. He reached 
the cross, so will his church. The church is to follow 
the Master to Calvary before it can follow him to 
enthronement. 

There are not only reasons in the foregoing Scrip- 
tural passages for the fact of the small number con- 
verted so far in the world, but they form an irrefutable 
argument for the statement that the remainder of the 
age will show the same results. If in nineteen hun- 
dred years the world has not been all converted, it is 
not more probable that even another such period would 
show different results. The same agencies which have 
prevented the whole world's conversion still exist. 
Nor would the conversion of the present or any future 
generation be the conversion of the world, for the 
most of the world are dead. The eighteen centu- 
ries of those who lived since Christ, are beyond the 
gospel's reach. Nor is there any assurance that the 
world would remain as a world in a state of conver- 
sion. The history of the past points to great aposta- 
sies following great turnings to God. But the words 
of Christ and of the apostles are conclusive upon this 
point. There is not one word in all the promises of 
Christ or the New Testament writers, promising the 
conversion of the world in this age. 

There are certain scriptures which speak of the 
prevalence of the gospel and righteousness. These 
must either be placed according to their chronological 
data, or if no such definite time is mentioned, then in 
harmony with those which are so dated. They all re- 
fer to future times. Some of those most common used 
are manifestly for a future age, as for example, the 
following well-known and often quoted passage : 



2/2 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

"Ask of me and I will give to thee the heathen for 
thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth 
for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod 
of iron ; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's 
vessel." 1 The latter part certainly does not refer to 
the work of Christ in the gospel age. The promise 
our Lord made was: " I, if I be lifted up from the 
earth, will draw all men unto myself. But this he said 
signifying by what manner of death he should die." 2 
This has not been fulfilled as yet, and the promise 
does not specify a time. We must therefore inter- 
pret it in accordance with other more definite prom- 
ises. It could not have been intended to apply to the 
succeeding nineteen hundred years, for they have come 
and gone and the promise is not fulfilled. We look 
for its fulfilment in another age. 

The objections raised against this view from sup- 
posed necessary conditions, as the work of the Holy 
Spirit, are all answered by the fact that the Spirit car- 
ries out the purposes of God. The Holy Spirit can 
convert the world to God, if it is God's will, just as he 
could have converted Paul ; but he did not. Paul 
was converted by the appearance of Christ himself. 
So if it is the will of God to convert the world by 
other agencies than those we are seeing, we have no 
right or reason to object. 

It is not derogatory to the work of Christ or the 
Holy Spirit to see in this age of the gospel only what 
Scripture declares is the purpose of it. Some have 
conceived false impressions as to the purpose of the 
gospel dispensation. They think it is to bring about 
a full and complete victory for Christ and all his 
cause, and that by the present agencies. There is 
such a victory coming as sure as God is and reigns, 
but not now nor by our feeble arms or means. We 
are not to be the means of seating Christ upon the 
throne of universal dominion. We are the recipients 

^s. ii. 8, 9. 2 John xii . 32. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 273 

of his bounty, saved by grace, and are ' ' his workman- 
ship, his tillage," a flock to be fed and guarded, the 
bride to be sanctified and honored. We are not to 
crown Christ, but he is to crown us ; we are not to 
bring him a victory, but he is to bring us a victory. 
The world is not to be subdued by us, even through 
the gospel, but by himself or rather by God for him 
as the above scripture declares. 

Some testimonies to this view of the Scriptural 
truth are given. Calvin wrote, "There is no reason 
why any person should expect the conversion of the 
world." John Knox said, "To reform the face of the 
whole earth, which never was, nor yet shall be till 
that righteous King and Judge appear for the restitu- 
tion of all things." Luther said, "The older the 
world, the worse. " Dr. Luthardt writes as follows : — 

"The path of the church of Jesus Christ is like that of her 
Lord and Saviour — through the cross to the crown. Let her 
know ; let her comfort herself thereby." * 

Dr. Robert Patterson writes : — 

"If we are to enjoy any period of outward peace during 
his absence ; if his church is to be delivered from the assaults 
of the world ; if there is to be an age of purity when the tares 
shall not grow among the wheat ; or if at his coming he shall 
be welcomed by the population of an earth filled with the glory 
of the Lord ; even if he be able to find faith on the earth, it 
will be to him a most welcome surpise. In all his discourses 
and parables there is not the least hint we are to hope for any 
period of peace or glory before his coming." 

Bishop Ryle thus writes : — 

"I believe the world will never be completely converted to 
Christianity by any existing agency before the end. The 
wheat and tares will grow together until the harvest. When 
the end comes, it will find the earth in much the same state it 
was before the flood." 

Professor Chas. A. Briggs referring to the Presby- 
terian Standards, writes : — 

1 " Saving Truths of Christianity," p. 308. 
18 



274 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

" The current doctrine of a millennium in the future before 
the advent of Christ is another extra-confessional doctrine 
for which there is no basis in the Westminster Standards." 1 

"The conversion of the Jews and a more glorious condition 
of the church before the advent predicted in the New Testa- 
ment has been improperly associated with the millennium. 
The idea of a future millennium before the advent is ruled out 
by the Westminster Symbols." 2 

Dorner writes as follows : — 

"The New Testament does not countenance a theory 
which assumes merely a quiet, steady, growing interpenetra- 
tion or subjugation of the whole world by Christianity in the 
course of history. This is the optimistic view which is unpre- 
pared for eclipses of the sun in the firmament of the church. 
The New Testament foretells catastrophes to the life of the 
church so that in this respect also it is a copy of the life of 
Christ." 3 

Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge writes : — 

" As a question of mere doctrine, no reason can be as- 
signed which tends to limit the period of the struggle between 
good and evil in this world or to determine any positive issue 
for it. It is only by express revelation we could know that 
the kingdom of God will triumph completely and possess the 
whole earth, and I have already said that the Scripture seems 
to me to teach that in order to this triumph that kingdom 
must assume a new form, and exist under another dispensation. 
Whoever will assert that the church of God, independently 
of some divine change in the elements of the problem which 
it has been working out under its gospel form for more than 
eighteen centuries, can have a future very materially differ- 
ent from her past history, or that the human race can have 
a future spiritual history essentially variant from that which 
is past, without some further and marvelous interposition of 
God, will in each instance, it appears to me, contradict the 
whole current of divine revelation, and disregard the absolute 
economy of the plan of salvation. The augmentation of the 
present saving operation of the divine spirit is not that super- 
natural change in the element of the problem, is not that 
further interposition of God which will extinguish sin and 

1 "Whither," New York, 1890, p. 200. 

2 " Messiah of the Apostles," New York, 1895, pp. 347, 349. 
* " System of Christian Doctrine," Vol. 4, p. 389. 






CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 275 

misery in the world, and give to the saints millennial glory and 
reign with Christ." 1 

We are now to examine the results of this mixed 
state of affairs which we have seen exists in the indi- 
vidual believer, in Israel, in the church, and in the world, 
and see what plan Christ has in our age, and its final 
outcome. We can see first of all that no better state 
or world could exist for the development of individual 
character. We have seen the fight within the believer, 
the struggle between the flesh and the spirit. The 
same struggle is met also without. The opposing 
elements which the Christian meets, the struggle he 
is called upon to make, the final and constant victory 
he may have, all furnish the gymnasia he needs to 
strengthen the gifts and the graces of the spirit. By 
this life of constant turning away from sin and self 
and to God, he is so fixed in holiness that he becomes 
permanently holy. 

What has been said of the individual believer is 
true also of the church. We look back to the eternal 
past and see the divine plan under consideration and 
that the great object of Christ's care was the church. 
To train this body for eternal service and enjoyment, 
was the great purpose of all the divine plan. The 
statement of the forerunner of Christ, of his plan, of 
his work as to the church, is in these words : "Whose 
fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his 
threshing floor ; and he will gather his wheat into the 
garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquench- 
able fire." 2 The sifting process is going on. Every- 
thing adverse contributes to this end. Even as to 
the delusions of Satan, Paul writes : " For there must 
be also heresies [margin, factions] among you, that 
they which are approved may be made manifest 



1,4 Knowledge of God Subjectively Considered," New York, 1869, 
p. 677. a Matt. iii. 12. 8 i Cor. xi. 19. 



276 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

The divided state of the church seems lamentable, 
and yet it could exist, as the world and as human 
nature are, in no other state. The church was once 
organically one and never was it more corrupt. The 
days of the Church supremacy were the days of the 
beginning of her spiritual downfall. In those days 
were developed all the evils which have since existed. 
The prizes of power in a universal church were and 
would be so great, that human nature, even in the 
church, could not resist the temptation to self-seeking 
and self-aggrandizement as we see it in almost every 
sect and party however small. Ecclesiastical ambi- 
tion and love of gain has stooped to any means of 
gaining its end. Therefore Christ as at Babel, has 
sent confusion of tongues, that this idolatrous purpose 
may be thwarted. The sects of to-day are a neces- 
sary means of preserving the spirituality of the in- 
visible church. In the same way the truth has been 
preserved. The doctrine which one sect has ignored 
has been emphasized by another. Some have been 
raised up to bear aloft some forgotten truth. In the 
days of some powerful and worldly sect some humble 
party has been called out to preach the gospel to the 
masses, and has been the means of calling believers 
back to more pure doctrine, life, and word. 

The vitality of the church on earth all this time 
is an amazing feature of its history. Every device of 
man and the devil has been exercised to exterminate 
it. It has been decimated by persecutions and 
enswathed in the smothering influence of godless 
secular power. It has been exposed to the ridicule of 
the world by the doings of false members and by the 
shortcomings of true ones. It has been almost de- 
stroyed by world-wide apostasies and its doctrine cor- 
rupted by the admixture of abominable heresies. It 
has been divided and redivided and split into hundreds 
of warring factions and sects, and it has been poisoned 
and enervated by worldliness and invaded and attacked 






CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 277 

by every form of unbelief. There has been scarcely 
any way of destruction it has not faced, and yet it still 
exists. Christ ever has had his care over it. It 
has come through all, and will until it emerges from 
this world of conflict into the kingdom of God eternal. 

In respect to evangelizing the world also, we can see 
how the state of the world, as we have seen it, and as 
it is to continue, is the best condition for the offers of 
the gospel to secure true believers. In a state such 
as existed in the time of Constantine, and as exists 
to-day in limited localites, where religion is a matter 
of great repute and of gain, the converts, so-called, 
multiply with great rapidity, but they are of question- 
able quality. All this, by a state of humility and ob- 
scurity for the church, is avoided. As the quicksilver 
attracts the gold, so the gospel under such circum- 
stances attracts the true believer, and the false re- 
ject it. 

The world has been greatly blessed temporally by 
the gospel of Christ. This is a fact to which atten- 
tion is often called and is self-evident. It was in the 
plan of Christ that this should be so. The promise 
to Abraham was : "In thee and in thy seed shall all 
the families of the world be blessed." The seed Paul 
tells us was Christ. One need only compare those 
lands and communities in which the gospel is preached 
in purity with those where it is perverted or where it 
does not exist, and the fact is clearly shown. The 
evils which afflict man, especially the poor, are far 
less than before Christ. The world is better behaved. 
Vice is more concealed and so far made less an exam- 
ple and is more under reproof. The law came to re- 
strain transgressions, so did the gospel, only far more 
effectively. Great evils entrenched in centuries of 
life and supported by wealth and power have gone 
down under the silent secret power of the influence of 
the gospel. The world could not have existed as it 
was unless the restraining influences of the gos- 



278 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

pel had come. This is but a temporal and a tempo- 
rary benefit it is true, but it is a benefit and was in 
the plan of Christ. The people of Christ have been, 
as he said they would be, the salt of the earth as well 
as the lights of the world. They have preserved and 
illuminated mankind. 

The whole plan of Christ, as to the individual, the 
church, and the whole world in this and every age, is 
described in this parable of Christ's : " So is the king- 
dom of God as if a man should cast seed upon the earth; 
and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed 
should spring up and grow he knoweth not how. The 
earth beareth fruit of herself ; first the blade, then the 
ear, then the full corn in the ear. But when the 
fruit is ripe straightway he putteth forth the sickle, 
because the harvest is come." 1 The work of Christ 
in nature is everywhere illustrative of his work in the 
affairs of life and grace. The great lesson of this 
parable is that every age is a sowing, and that each 
age is left to develop its own results, and when these 
have come to full fruition, the results are gathered in 
a harvest. So it was as we have seen in the age be- 
fore the flood and also in Israel. The latter were 
given every opportunity, and when they had accom- 
plished all they could, the age was brought to a close, 
and the seed saved for a new sowing. Our age is no 
exception to this great law of divine action. The 
sowing has been made. The age is to be permitted 
to develop and to show its nature as all others were 
permitted. It is essentially different from those which 
preceded it as to the forms of development, although 
not as to nature. The great demonstration has 
reached another stage. The world was tried under 
license, and the results were seen in the age before 
the flood. In the Israelitish age, law was tried and 
the results gathered. In our age, grace is being shown, 
and man is being tried under a great display of the 
mercy and love of God. The most searching of all 

1 Mark iv. 26-29. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 279 

tests is the gospel. As has been seen, it tells by the 
acceptance or rejection of the hearer, whether there is 
true desire for salvation and to do the will of God ; 
so for the world at large. To this age has been sent 
the gospel of grace. All has been done for man's sal- 
vation. He is offered free grace. It is a searching 
test of the nature of the world to be one day shown to 
the universe for their instruction. 

The world will have to be brought to the end of 
its resources for self-saving before it will accept the 
gospel of Christ. It is true of the world as it is true 
of the individual. We come to Christ from our sense of 
need. So all the mooted plans for remedying the evils 
of life without the gospel will be given an opportunity 
to show what they cap do. Material civilization, 
especially in the newer countries and communities in 
the flush of achievement, is the much-hoped-for means 
of bringing the age of universal prosperity and con- 
tentment. The improvements of living, the multipli- 
cation of means of amusement, the increase of wealth, 
the discovery of remedies of disease, or the preven- 
tion of them, rapid means of transportation, — these are 
expected to produce all that is needed to make man 
all he wants to be or have. All this will be given the 
fullest trial by being allowed to come and be actually 
tried. 

The great hope of our age is intellectual power. 
With this it believes it will yet transform earth and 
make this world a paradise for man. Sin is to be 
educated out of man and the world, the influence of 
music, art, culture, and education are relied upon for 
this change. Political improvement will cooperate to 
this end. Great evils are to be eradicated, and with 
them will go temptation, and with the temptation will 
go sin itself. All this is to have a fair, full trial. It 
is needless to say to those who see things as the 
Scriptures delineate them, that all this must fail. In- 
tellectual power is not the saving power. This has 



28o CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

been abundantly demonstrated in the past. The 
most intellectual race who ever lived on earth, not 
excepting any now existing, was the Greek. Lecky 
writes of them as follows : — 

" Within the narrow limits and scanty population of the 
Greek states arose men who, in almost every conceivable form 
of genius, in philosophy, in epic, dramatic, and lyric poetry, 
in written and spoken eloquence, in statesmanship, in sculp- 
ture, in painting, and probably also in music, attained almost 
or altogether the highest limits of human perfection." 1 

Galton has written of the same race thus : — 

" The millions of all Europe, breeding as they have done 
for the subsequent two thousand years, have never produced 
the equals of Socrates and Phidias. . . . The average ability 
of the Athenian race is, on the lowest possible estimate, very 
nearly two grades higher than out own ; that is about as much 
as our race is above that of the African negro. This estimate, 
which may seem prodigious to some, is confirmed by the quick 
intelligence of the Athenian commonality, before whom literary 
works were recited, and works of art exhibited, of a far more 
severe character, than could possibly be appreciated by the 
average of our race, the caliber of whose intellect is easily 
gauged by glancing at the contents of a railway bookstall." 2 

Yet this race with all its power did not and could 
not save itself. The character of the Greek is well 
known. Immorality was not even apologized for. 
Unchastity was the essential element of the religion 
of Greece at this very time. The priestesses of her 
temples were prostitutes, and sixty thousand of them 
were required for the temple of Venus. 

All forms of government will have been tried, all 
social systems, all reforms, the full development of 
modern science will come with its material benefits in 
invention and appliances of every kind. All forms of 
religion, too, are to be given their day as many have 
had already. New forms of belief and worship imi- 
tating all more or less closely the religion of Christ but 

*" History European Morals," London, 1S77 ; Vol. i,p. 418. 
2 " Hereditary Genius , " London, 1869, p. 320. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 28 1 

without the cross of Christ, will arise and are already 
arising. Socialism in some form will undoubtedly 
come and be given its opportunity to make an Eden 
of earth without the regenerating power of the Holy 
Spirit and the gospel of the crucified Christ. The 
great demonstration will never need to be repeated 
when it is over. All future ages will read the story 
of man's trial and failure and will profit by it. The 
possibilities of self-saving and self-keeping will have 
been exhausted. 

This outlook will be perplexing unless an intelli- 
gent and Scriptural view is had of the purposes of 
Christ in our age. It is better to know the truth and 
have the right motives operating within us, than to be 
swayed by false views of an impossible state of things 
which will in the certain failure leave us disappointed. 

Dr. Auberlin writes on this subject as follows : — 

•• It is not good that our modern theology scarcely ever 
views the present time in the light of Biblical prophecy. In 
all historical works or philosophical remarks on the times, 
much is said about modern anti-christianity ; and there is no 
instruction given the laity how to view this phenomenon in 
connection with divine prophecy. . . . What is bringing thou- 
sands from Christianity, and preventing others from coming 
to a belief in a full and true Christianity, is nothing less but 
a respect for these intellectual powers which rule in these 
days of modern science and culture. But the worst thing is 
that scarcely any one sees the depth of the evil. For even in 
the Old Testament — the Old Covenant — the chief and most 
active aim of the false prophets was to make the people be- 
lieve that their state was not so bad, and that the judgments 
of God were not near. Therefore the fundamental and oft- 
repeated charge against them was, ' They heal the hurt of 
my people slightly and say it is peace, it is peace, when there 
is no peace." 1 

There must ever be kept in view the great differ- 
ence between the ending of our age and the final 
outcome on which we are to fix our eyes. A short- 

*" Daniel and Revelation," Edinburgh, 1856, p. 312. 



282 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

sighted view is either false or discouraging. Com- 
plete victory comes only at the end. 

The present age of the church has to do with the 
beings of the other world as the following scripture 
teaches: "To the intent that now unto the princi- 
palities and the powers in the heavenly places might 
be made known through the church the manifold 
wisdom of God. " ' This he writes was one purpose 
of the grace given him to preach the gospel. The 
Epistle to the Hebrews states that we are compassed 
about by a great cloud of witnesses. This world is a 
theater of grace. Paul writes he was a spectacle to 
men and angels. Peter tells : ' ' Which things angels 
desire to look into." 2 The reference is to the preach- 
ing of the gospel. The cherubim are represented 
bending over the mercy seat and looking down in 
wonder and reverence upon the type of sprinkled 
blood. Daniel hears in vision a holy one asking, 
' ' How long shall be the vision concerning the con- 
tinual burnt offering and the transgression that mak- 
eth desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host 
to be trodden underfoot ? " and again another asks, 
' ' How long shall it be to the end of these wonders ? " 3 
In the Apocalypse the heavenly hosts are continually 
represented as breaking out into songs in the accom- 
plishment of the divine plan. All which goes to show 
that we are actors upon a stage about which are gath- 
ered in most intense interest the heavenly beings, 
looking down and learning by us and our doings, and 
above all, by the gospel we are given and the grace 
shown us of the love of God and the grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

The apostles, as stated at the beginning of this 
chapter, preached a future Christ. They did not re- 
gard his work in this age as complete. They pointed 
to a coming age and victory. We must ever remem- 

1 Eph. iii. io. 2 I Peter i. 12. 8 Dan viii. 13; xii. 5, 6. 



CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 283 

ber that this age is only one of several, and its results 
are not a finality. Other ages preceded this and were 
only preparatory to it, as Peter tells us : "To whom 
it was announced that not unto themselves but unto 
you did they minister these things." 1 This view of 
the plan of Christ is necessary to an understanding of 
Christ in his present work. There is nothing more 
injurious in the contemplation of the purposes of 
God than a limited view. It narrows one's ideas, 
dwarfs faith, and dims hope. 

This view is plainly taught in this scripture quoted 
or referred to eight times in the New Testament : 
" The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right 
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." 2 
This does not refer to the gospel work of winning men 
to loving relationship to Christ. Such work is never 
so described. It is conquest. It is victory over ene- 
mies. Christ's attitude to the future is here described. 
He is expectant and waiting. He is at the right hand 
of God. This is the place of the heir, the King by 
right rather than the King by actual possession. This 
is the nature of Christ's present kingship. As has been 
shown, his title in the church is " Lord," and his view 
before the world is on the cross. The kingdom is a 
future condition as manifested. To this Christ looks 
forward as we do. 

One of the purposes which occupied the attention 
of Christ in his present state is intimated in the well- 
known scripture : ' ' In my Father's house are many man- 
sions ; if it were not so I would have told you ; for I go 
to prepare a place for you." 3 The preparation of this 
place was part of the work of Christ in this present 
age. The One who wrought so in creation to prepare 
a place for the human race now works for a higher and 
dearer object, — the home of his bride. This place 
Christ has gone to prepare must not be identified with 
the so-called middle state, where the spirits of the 

*l Peter i. 12. 8 Ps. ex. I. 3 John xiv. 2. 



284 CHRIST IN HIS PRESENT STATE AND WORK. 

departed are now and until the resurrection. It is 
some special place out of the many mansions in the 
house of God. This comes into consideration in the 
closing chapters. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 
CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

All Scriptures tell of a coming day. It is the 
theme alike of Old Testament prophets and New Tes- 
tament apostles. It is the summing up of all history 
and the focal point of all prophecy. It is described 
by the successive writers in terms of cumulative 
description. Each, as though he received the picture 
made by his predecessor, adds to it, and hands it down 
to his successor. The day grows from mere mention 
to outline, and from that to full detail, and ends in a 
panorama of figures and events which move along the 
narrative and produce upon the reader almost the 
effect of the original revelation. 

Every event of Scripture seems to be connected 
directly or indirectly with the Day of the Lord. The 
flood is a type of its coming, and the destruction of 
Sodom is declared to be a foretaste of it. The 
plagues of Egypt are repeated in the plagues of that 
day, and the deliverance song of Israel is the song of 
larger Israel at a greater sea. The victories of Israel 
at Megiddo are types of still greater victories of the 
church at the end. Indeed, the whole of Israel's 
history is woven into it. The defeats of Israel's ene- 
mies and the judgments upon them are used as 
materials to construct the picture of the last great 
judgments upon the enemies of Christ. So also the 
glories of Israel are found within the framework of 
the story. Their capital city, the ritual of worship, 

[285] 



286 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

the eldership, the tabernacle, and the temple are part 
of the scene. Not only Israel but all nations furnish 
their share of the view, and when it is analyzed, it is 
found to be the converging point of the world's his- 
tories. 

All the prophecies seem to await their final fulfil- 
ment at that time. The first promise, " The seed of 
the woman shall bruise the serpent's head," is a pre- 
diction of that day. The message of the first prophet, 
Enoch, has this for its theme. So through all the Old 
Testament prophecies, whatever their other mes- 
sages, all find space for some reference to the Day of 
the Lord. Jesus himself gave full details of it, and all 
his apostles who have left us writings, and all other 
writers of the New Testament gave space to this 
great theme. The Bible ends in a book wholly de- 
voted to it. It is a mingled scene of glory and ter- 
ror. All nature's beauties are exhausted to describe 
its glories and its awful phenomena, — clouds, storms, 
earthquakes, darkness, pillars of smoke, fire, are 
gathered into the picture. All that human life and 
history can furnish — voices, trumpets, thrones, great 
assizes, vast armies, battles, are called for to bring to 
the imagination a picture of surpassing grandeur. 

The great characteristic of the Day of the Lord is 
that it is an inburst upon earth of the supernatural. 
The other world breaks in on this. Angels are seen. 
Great signs unaccountable to man appear. Voices 
are heard from the sky. Its supernatural character 
must ever be kept distinctly in mind. The super- 
natural will be as common as the natural. It will 
be constantly in some form before the world. It is 
not an unknown thing that this should be so. The 
people of Israel had such displays. The ages of law, 
prophets, and the gospel were introduced by super- 
natural outbursts, and so will be this greater age. 

The coming of such a time has been a tradition or 
belief of all peoples and ages. The view of the peo- 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 287 

pies of the earth has been that there would come a 
supernatural being from the skies and call the earth 
to judgment and then destroy it by fire. This was 
the belief of Greek philosophers, particularly the Sto- 
ics. The sibylline oracles are full of it and relate 
substantially the Scriptural account as they no doubt 
received it. It was taught by Zoroaster to his fol- 
lowers. The Hindus and Egyptians had also such a 
belief. The fable of the Phoenix had reference to this. 
It was found among the Aztecs who expected a com- 
ing One who would put all things right. It is still 
almost universally looked for. Every nation has its 
own peculiar ideas of its nature and coming. It is 
spoken of as the ' ' end of the world, " the ' ' Day of 
Judgment," and properly so, although not in the nar- 
row sense in which these terms are used. 

The apostles presented a double view of the Day 
of the Lord. They preached it as affecting the church 
and the world. To each they presented it as the one 
great motive. To the church they held it up as the 
great incentive to the cultivation of all graces and the 
reward for all services and the compensation for all 
sacrifices. They regarded it as something extremely 
desirable, and urged the saints to ' ' look for and 
hasten unto the coming of the Day of God." They 
kept it before the minds of the churches constantly. 
Every Epistle is full of it. There is no subject which 
is more purifying and elevating than this. The study 
of the world above, and events to come, is set before us 
in the Scriptures as the stimulant to holy frames of mind 
and earnest life : ' ' Seek the things that are above, 
where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. 
Set your mind on the things that are above, not on 
the things that are upon the earth." 1 Augustine 
says, " The love of things temporal can only be over- 
come by a certain pleasurableness in things eternal." 
It is the exaltation of these glories of the future 
which is needed in this materialistic age. The pre- 
1 Col. iii. 2, 3. 



288 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

sentation of these realities will prove the corrective 
for the worldliness of the age of sensuousness in 
which we live. The church must be made to see 
the greatness of the future life and world as the 
apostles and the prophets saw it. The future now 
has little attractive power. This age of comfort and 
conveniences is characterized by unbelief in, or un- 
desire for, the things of hereafter. We are so en- 
gaged in securing for ourselves and others a heaven 
here by means of our improvements of material and in- 
tellectual and social kind, that we are indifferent to any 
future heaven. The bright pictures of the word are 
neglected in our day as never before. Only at funerals 
are they alluded to, and at other times are listened 
to with heavy hearts as something for which we must 
forego the present. A great loss has come to the 
church from the neglect of this great incentive. The 
result is seen in so minimizing the eternal rewards, 
and unduly exalting the temporal benefits of religion 
that the gain of salvation hereafter is in some a thing 
almost forgotten or even despised. There is little 
left of hereafter but a dim idea of a mysterious state 
which is only accepted as a last resort and as an al- 
ternative from a worse fate. This neglect of the 
things of the hereafter amounts almost to a heresy or 
a great apostasy. 

To the world the apostle preached the Day of the 
Lord in all its terrors. The apostles did not preach 
hell specifically. The word does not occur in the 
Acts or Epistles except incidentally. They dwell 
upon the coming of Christ, the resurrection, the 
Judgment, the wrath of God, and the destruction of 
the world by fire, as warnings and incentives to re- 
pentance and faith in Christ. The narrowing of all 
this to the special place or fact called " hell," is one 
cause of the misunderstanding of the nature and jus- 
tice of the punishment of sin. It will be objected 
that this is the Christ of power and not of grace. It 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 289 

must not be forgotten that Christ nowhere declares 
himself as confining his work to the operations of 
grace. This is the great element in his acting in our 
age. But the great feature of Christ's acting in the 
Day of the Lord is power and justice. Wrath is as 
real and as holy as love. When Scripture says God 
is love, it does not say he is nothing else. There is a 
sense in which love is all inclusive, but such love is 
not the sentimental thing generally understood by the 
word to-day. " Our God is a consuming fire " is also 
written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

This whole subject, Eschatology, the Science of 
the Last Things, — is the most neglected depart- 
ment of Bible study to-day. The general view is 
shut up to " dying and going to heaven and after that 
the general judgment.' 11 Few venture beyond that 
bare outline. In fact the whole subject is, in the 
minds of many, in a state of utter confusion. 
Works on Eschatology of a thorough and systematic 
kind are few. Many do not know what to believe 
upon the subject, and therefore lose the comfort 
and the power to comfort others by it. Yet this is 
one of the most voluminously treated subjects in 
Scripture. In the New Testament one verse in 
twenty deals with it, and the events are described 
with great minuteness. It is a difficult subject when 
approached with preconceived opinions or systems to 
be affected by it. But, if studied in a simple manner 
with a mind willing to receive what Scripture teaches 
regardless of the consequences to one's favorite views 
or reputation, light will come. That it is difficult is 
reason for more study and not less. It is true there 
is great difference of opinion upon this subject, but so 
there is on all other subjects ; and this is no good 
reason for neglecting this or any subject, but rather 
the more reason why it should be considered, and the 
truth found. Under the persevering study of many dili- 
gent students, the whole is assuming form, and the 

19 



29O CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

state of the light upon it is far greater now than ever 
before. In this respect the prediction of Daniel is 
being fulfilled : "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the 
words and seal the book even to the time of the end ; 
many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be in- 
creased." 1 The running to and fro is investigation of 
the Scriptures by study as well as the general travel 
and enlightenment. 

One reason of the failure to understand the pre- 
dictions of Scripture has been the system of inter- 
pretation in vogue, which is known as spiritualizing, 
or, more correctly described, the interpreting of 
Scripture in a figurative manner. Bishop Ryle 
writes : — 

"I believe that the literal sense of the Old Testament 
prophecies has been far too much neglected by the churches, 
and is far too much neglected in the present day, and that 
under the mistaken system of spiritualizing and accommodat- 
ing Bible language, Christians have too often missed its 
meaning." 

Bishop Jeremy Taylor wrote : — 

"In all the interpretations of Scripture the literal sense is 
to be preserved and chosen, unless there is evident cause to 
the contrary." 

Tyndall said : — 

"The greatest cause of this captivity and decay of faith, 
and this blindness wherein we are now, sprang first from alle- 
gories ; for Origen and the doctors of his time drew all Scrip- 
ture into allegories insomuch that twenty doctors expounded 
one text twenty different ways." 

Sir Isaac Newton wrote : — 

"About the time of the end, in all probability, a body of 
men will be raised up, who will turn their attention to the 
prophecies, and insist upon the literal interpretation in the 
midst of much clamor and opposition." 

This is the very issue between the evangelical and 
unevangelical denominations to-day. We affirm and 

1 Dan. xii. 4. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 29 1 

they deny the literal statements as to the divinity of 
Christ, his miracles, his resurrection, and ascent, and 
the descent of the Holy Spirit. To allow spiritual- 
izing on these, as might be claimed with as much 
reason, would be to surrender all we hold dear. 

Certain scriptures have been used to support this 
so-called spiritualizing system. One of these is, ' ' The 
letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." 1 Examination 
of the context of this verse will show that Paul is not 
dealing with systems of interpretation here. He is 
contrasting the law and the gospel, and by "the 
letter" refers to the law, and by "the spirit" to the 
gospel and its power. He is showing the superiority 
of the work of the gospel to that of the law. He 
shows what he elsewhere plainly teaches, — that the 
law kills, while the gospel gives life, because through 
it the Spirit works. The passage is as follows : 
' ' Our sufficiency is from God ; who also made us suf- 
ficient as ministers of a new covenant : not of the letter, 
but of the spirit : for the letter killeth, but the spirit 
giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written 
and engraven on stones, came with glory, so that the 
children of Israel could not look steadfastly upon the 
face of Moses for the glory of his face ; which glory was 
passing away : how shall not rather the ministration 
of the spirit be with glory ? " 2 Here the ' ' letter " is the 
same as that " written and engraven on stones," which 
was the law. The ' ' new covenant " is the gospel. It 
is the former ' ' letter," or law, which kills, and the gos- 
pel, or " new covenant," which gives life. The same 
antithesis is seen in the use of these terms by Paul again 
in another place : "But now we have been discharged 
from the law, having died to that wherein we were 
holden : so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and 
not in oldness of the letter." 3 Here he uses "letter" 
as referring to the law. Another text relied upon to 
support this system is the saying of Christ: "It is 

1 2 Cor. iii. 6. • 2 Cor. iii. 6-8. 8 Rom. vii. 6. 



292 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

the Spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing ; 
the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and 
are life." 1 The antithesis here is between the flesh 
and the spirit and not words and spirit. There is no 
reference to interpretations of any kind. In fact a 
meaning the very opposite from the view antagonized 
could be drawn from this scripture, for it says plainly 
that the words are spirit and life. 

Predictive scripture has also come to be neglected 
by reason of disgust at the extravagances of some 
who have given study to it. This reason would, if 
applied, also shut us out of all Bible study ; for 
every truth has been carried to extravagant extremes 
by some. Nor are we to be moved by the fear of 
consequences. God, who gave the scripture, takes 
all the consequences, and so may we. The first ques- 
tion for an honest seeker to ask, is, " What is truth ? " 
and follow the quest until he finds it. 

Undoubtedly this attempt will, as others, show 
many points for criticism. The expositor of predic- 
tive prophecy subjects himself more than any other to 
such criticism. It is a most mysterious sphere in 
which we are feeling our way as with a light in a dark 
place, as Peter tells us. There are many conflicting 
views before the student. There is needed in both 
expounder and reader much patience. We are all 
eager to know, and all intensely and personally inter- 
ested in the events of this great future. Only sound 
exegesis and the illumination of the Holy Spirit can 
give us light. In this spirit, feeling it is a vast and 
mysterious and awful subject, far beyond any of us as 
yet, the author would venture to add the results of 
many years of study of the Scriptures and examina- 
tion of many authorities upon this subject, to the sum 
of knowledge obtained. 

The great prophet of the coming age was John. 
He was the nearest to Jesus of the apostolic band, and 

1 John vi. 63. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 293 

probably the youngest. He was mightiest in the 
greatest of all graces. John was able to climb to 
that point which Paul declares was the summit of 
Christian experience — "The greatest of these is 
love." He apprehended the pure gospel as seen in 
the character of the evangel written by him. Christ 
in John's gospel is for the world. The view of Christ 
in the Apocalypse is also for the world. The Revela- 
tion is unique among the books of the Bible. It is as 
different from the rest of the New Testament as the 
New is from the Old. Lange says: "As the Bible 
stands alone among the books of the world, so does 
the Apocalypse among the books of the Bible." It is 
like a third testament. It has upon the one who reads 
it earnestly, some of the effect of the first giving of it, 
and this apart from the understanding of it. The 
book is supernatural and produces a supernatural 
effect. There is no book so verified as the Revelation. 
It is the direct communication of Jesus Christ himself, 
the only words dictated by him to a scribe and ordered 
to be committed to writing. 

The Apocalypse opens with this promise : ' ' Blessed 
is he that readeth and they that hear the words of the 
prophecy and keep the things which are written there- 
in ; for the time is at hand." l Christ himself closes it 
with these words — his last message : "I testify unto 
every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of 
this book, If any man shall add unto them, God shall 
add unto him the plagues which are written in this 
book ; and if any man shall take away from the words 
of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his 
part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, 
which are written in this book." 2 This is a warning 
against fanaticism on the one hand, and faithlessness 
on the other. To "add unto them" is to give them 
impious and extravagant interpretations. Setting 
times and seasons for the end of the world and 

'Rev. i. 3. 'Rev. xxii. 17, 18. 



294 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

other events connected with it, or declaring utter wrath 
unmixed with mercy as the doom of all in this time, 
founding sects and parties upon it, and claiming to 
be the parties therein meant, — all such are adding to 
the things written therein, and will meet the certain 
fate of having added to them ' ' the plagues which are 
written in this book." On the other hand, taking 
away from the words of this prophecy also meets its 
penalty. It is a taking away to disparage the study 
of the book, or to despise this class of subjects in the 
Scripture, all of which are by inspiration. To neglect 
such a book after such solemn promises and warnings 
is surely exposing oneself to the threat therein con- 
tained. To make these things in the book mean 
less than they are intended is also to bring oneself 
within the warning. Such are all systems of inter- 
pretation which lighten the solemn warnings herein, 
and make them mean anything or nothing according 
to notions or interests. 

The use of the various names of Christ in the 
Apocalypse is significant. The personal, official title, 
"Jesus Christ," only occurs in the introduction by 
John. 1 It seems only to serve the purpose of identi- 
fication of the Christ of the Day of the Lord with the 
historical Jesus and the Christ of the Epistles. The 
name " Jesus " occurs more often. It is found in the 
opening and closing paragraphs and in the body of 
the prophecy. It is always used in connection with 
the testimony, patience, or martyrdom of the saints, 
or the faith and testimony of Jesus. It is, then, the 
title of the time of trial. ' • Lord Jesus " is used 
by John alone in his closing prayer and benediction. 
It is the title as noted of the present age. The name 
" Christ " occurs only in connection with the triumph 
of the millennial kingdom. 2 This, then, is the title 
for the time of victory, and points forward to it. 

1 Rev. i. i, 2. * Rev. xi. 15 ; xii. 10; xx. 4, 6. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 295 

Christians are then by their very name, professors of 
the coming kingdom of Christ. ' ' The Christ " and 
the Pauline title, " Christ Jesus," do not occur. The 
first is, as we noted, Israel's peculiar title, and the 
latter the evangelistic title of the present age of gos- 
pel. To none of the seven churches does Christ 
reveal himself by any of his proper names. The great 
name, "King of kings and Lord of lords," previ- 
ously used by Paul in his prophetic doxology, ■ finds 
its significance in the Old Testament use. It was 
applied to Nebuchadnezzar by Daniel and Ezekiel, 
and to Artaxerxes, one of his successors. 2 Its signifi- 
cance comes from the Babylonian king's world-wide 
sovereignty and the place Christ takes as the succes- 
sor of the world powers in the vision of the stone 
smiting the image, representing the long term of the 
reign of the world empires, of which Nebuchadnezzar 
was first and head. It only refers to Christ's earthly 
kingship, however. 

The peculiar title of Christ in the Apocalypse is 
given by himself alone : "I am the Alpha and the 
Omega, saith the Lord God, which is and which was, 
and which is to come, the Almighty." 8 With this he 
opens the Revelation, and with the same he closes 
the last of the works of sin and opens the New Jeru- 
salem. The alphabetical letters identify Christ as 
the " Word." The first and last alphabetical letters 
show he is the complete Word or manifestation and 
message of God. It also includes Christ as the 
Creator and the Jehovah of the Old Testament. It is 
not the name of Christ in the eternal future, how- 
ever, nor in the eternal past. The title is the designa- 
tion of Christ in his work from the beginning of crea- 
tion to the end of time. 

The name applied to Christ more often than all 
others together in the Revelation is "The Lamb." 

*I Tim. vi. 15.. * Dan. ii. 37 ; Ezra xxvi; vii. 12 

8 Rev. i. 8. 



296 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

This is, however, a different form of the word from 
that used elsewhere. It is the diminutive meaning, 
"the little lamb." The same word in its diminutive 
form is used by Christ in his word to Peter, ' ' Feed my 
little lambs." It represents Christ in his personal char- 
acter, and expresses the great mission of Christ both 
in its Godward and manward aspects. It expresses 
first the perfect submission of Christ in trustful yield- 
ing up of all in whole and final consecration to the 
will of God as a perfect sacrifice. It represents 
Christ as God's substitute for man upon the altar 
of justice. It expresses the victory of redemption. 
It is as the Lamb that Christ is praised by the 
heavenly hosts in the opening of the Apocalypse, 
and as the Lamb, Christ obtains the right and power 
to open and administer the sealed book of the fu- 
ture. It is " the wrath of the Lamb " which is most 
feared by the impenitent world on the edge of the 
judgment, and in the same title he is praised by 
the innumerable throng of the saved. By this name 
he is appealed to for victory by the angels in the war 
in heaven against Satan, and by it they overcome. 
It is by this name he is known when he comes in 
judgment, and as the Lamb he meets Satan and 
overcomes him. In this name he is united to the 
church forever as his Bride, and she is ever known as 
"the Bride, the Lamb's wife." It is as the Lamb 
that he reigns in the New Jerusalem, and the last we 
see of the glory of the city of God and of its God 
and his Christ is as "the throne of God and of the 
Lamb. " Here, then, is the great title of Christ — 
"The Little Lamb." It is the opposite of man's 
ideals. Man chooses ferocious beasts or birds, such 
as the lion, bear, eagle, or dragon, for his standards. 
God's Little Lamb overcomes and destroys them all. 
Man chooses boldness and courage as his favorite 
virtues ; God opposes with meekness and weakness 
and wins the victory. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 297 



There are to most, and perhaps all Scriptural pre- 
dictions three interpretations ; First, the spiritual ; 
second, the figurative ; and third, the literal. So in 
the first prediction, ' ' The seed of the woman shall 
bruise the serpent's head." This is true spiritually 
of every believer in the sense of Christ's victory for 
him and in him. But it refers to the redemptive 
work of Christ in which the serpent's head was 
bruised. The third reference is to the final overthrow 
of Satan personally. The prophecy of Enoch was, 
"The Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints." 
It is true at all times that Christ comes in vengeance 
on evil-doers. It has direct reference to the flood 
also. The further interpretation is the great one, 
as Jude tells us, which will be at the end. The sev- 
enty-second Psalm is another illustration of this prin- 
ciple. It describes a state of Christian experience. 
It was predicted directly of Solomon by his father 
David. But there was the final fulfilment in the 
reign of Christ. 

So in these three senses the Apocalypse may be 
interpreted. It has furnished constant edification 
to the people of God in all ages by its spiritual 
meaning, whether the predictive meaning was under- 
stood or not. There has been also a figurative ful- 
filment all along the course of history. This Christ 
declared by the opening declaration : ' ' The Reve- 
lation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to shew 
unto his servants, even the things which must shortly 
come to pass." That Christ should apprise his serv- 
ants of what was coming is in accord with all the 
past. Always have the people of God been in- 
formed as to the future from the first to the pres- 
ent. To prove that this is a meaning of the Apoc- 
alypse, one need only take such a history as that of 
Gibbon, covering the same period, the work of an 
unbeliever, yet reciting sometimes in almost the same 



298 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

terms the events predicted by the Apocalypse. The 
Revelation has been a lamp in a dark place to the 
church all these centuries. The diligent student 
may still make out the shadows of coming events 
by the aid of this great prophecy. 

But the predictions of Scripture, and especially 
the Apocalypse, have a future and a greater fulfil- 
ment. The historical and the spiritual fulfilments do 
not exhaust the language nor the figures. For exam- 
ple, the opening of the sixth seal, where the world of 
sinners call upon the rocks and mountains to fall on 
them and hide them" from the face of him that sitteth 
on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, was 
fulfilled historically in the overwhelming convulsions 
of the downfall of the Roman empire. But any 
reader, looking at these sublime words and being told 
this was the fulfilment of them, would ask, " Is that 
all they mean ? " The fact that many Old Testa- 
ment scriptures use the same kind of language 
in predicting the fall of lands like Babylon, is not 
opposed to the view here held, for all these have, as 
intimated, a connection with the Day of the Lord. 
Scripture intimates that things of the past and of the 
earth are shadows of things above and of the future. 
This idea is embodied in such common sayings as, 
' ' History repeats itself " and, ' ' Coming events cast 
their shadows before." In a higher sense than these 
sayings mean, the idea is correct. The Epistle to the 
Hebrews speaks of the ordinances of the Mosaic 
economy being "shadows of the heavenly things," 
"copies of the things in the heavens." 1 Milton says, 

"What if earth 
Be but the shadow of heaven, and things therein, 
Each to the other like, more than on earth is thought." 

The law and its ordinances were shadows of the 
spiritual realities which came in Christ. By this his- 
torical fulfilment we may read the greater one, and 

1 Heb. viii. 5 ; ix. 23. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 299 

it is for this reason the two are given, as well as for 
the edification of contemporaneous believers. This 
future fulfilment of the Apocalypse is the history of 
the Day of God. 

A consideration of the Christ of the future and 
his work, demands a review of the events of the Day 
of the Lord. The events of the age to come are 
many. The record is crowded with the outline of it. 
Great political systems rise and fall, and many 
peoples are gathered into world-wide combinations. 
Strange events happen among them ; battles are 
fought and cities are overthrown. All show that 
time is occupied by its events. Nor is the work of 
that day all judgment, although it is "the Day of 
Judgment." There are to be offers of mercy and 
calls to repentance and a world-wide proclamation 
of the gospel. There also will be events affecting 
the church, and blessed raptures and glories for the 
believers, and a long age of universal peace and hap- 
piness for man. The sequence of events is the great 
matter of difficulty and of diversity among students 
of the word. We have before us a mass of glittering 
mountain peaks, and we are looking at the whole 
from a distance, and their relative position and 
relationship is not easily perceived. They are pre- 
sented here in the consecutive order of the Apoc- 
alypse on the conviction that whatever other fulfilments 
that greatest of prophecies has, it is a history of the 
Day of God. We shall follow, then, its order, and 
add other Scriptures as they seem to fit that sys- 
tematic record. The church, Israel, and the world 
will each be found to have a place in these events as 
in the previous ages. 

The mistake made commonly is in shutting up 
each feature of the Day of the Lord in a single event, 
as for example, but one appearing of Christ and one 
rapture of the saints, a single resurrection and but one 
judgment, the same mistake as was made by the 



300 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

Jews in regard to the coming of Christ. This con- 
ception must be gotten rid of if the predictions are 
to be understood at all. 

From Steffan's " Das Ende : " — 

" Does not the ' Day of the Lord,' since Scripture knows 
only one great day, comprehend both the Parousia and the 
last universal judgments? Does not even the same scrip- 
ture say, ' A day with the Lord is as a thousand years ' ? 
Yea, does not John call the last time itself the 'last hour' ? 
What hinders us to believe that the Day of the Lord begins 
with the Parousia and ends with the universal judgment. We 
shall look for not one or two appearances of Christ, or one 
or two resurrections, and but a single judgment, but a succes- 
sion of each of these. Christ coming often during this age 
of the supernatural. So also several described resurrections 
and judgments. The whole is one coming of Christ, one long 
Judgment Day, one long Resurrection Day. All these are the 
normal events of the age." 1 

We quote from Lange : — 

"The resurrection of the dead is exhibited as a vital 
process, working from within outwards, through an entire 
aeon from the first glorious blossoms of the resurrection 
to the last general resurrection. The judgment is set forth 
as a distinct series of judgments, reaching from the war 
judgment at the return of Christ, through the peace judg- 
ment of the thousand years, to the judgment of damnation 
at the close of those years. . . . The entire aeon is to be 
conceived of as an aeon of separations and eliminations in an 
ethical and a cosmical sense, separations and eliminations 
which are such as are necessary to make manifest and to 
complete the ideal regulations of life." 2 

The Apocalypse opens the future by the figure of 
the gradual opening and slow unrolling of a sealed 
book or scroll. s The state of things accompanying 
this is the same as described by Christ in the Olivet 
discourse* which is a history of our gospel age, which 
ends at the sudden inburst of the Day of the Lord. 

1 " Premillennial Essays," Chicago, 1879, p. 509. 

2 Commentary, Revelation, New York, pp. 350, 403. 

s Rev. vi. * Matt. xxiv. 4-14. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 3OI 

The believer is to be apprised by premonitory signs, 
so as not to be taken unawares. Among these are 
a general world-wide proclamation of the gospel ; * an 
apostasy ; 2 unbelief in the coming of the Lord ; 3 prob- 
ably a persecution of the saints ; * national move- 
ments among the Jews ; 6 and calamities affecting the 
Turkish abomination and the papacy. 6 A special call 
of some kind is indicated by the midnight cry in the 
parable of the ten virgins. 

Upon the world the Day of the Lord is to come 
as a thief, as a snare, as lightning. They are to be 
at their usual vocations. 7 The first intimation the 
world will have will be the enshrouding of the whole 
earth in a pall of impenetrable darkness. This is the 
common idea of the last day, or the end of the world, 
as this great event is commonly termed, and in a 
sense correctly so. In attempting to describe the 
conditions of that time we can only use the language 
of Scripture : "I will show wonders in the heaven 
above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and 
fire, and vapor of smoke ; the sun shall be turned 
into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the 
Day of the Lord come, that great and notable day." 8 
Christ himself mentioned these phenomena among 
the accompaniments of the end. Clouds and darkness 
are everywhere associated in the Old Testament pre- 
dictions with the coming of the Day of God. The 
state of things on earth at this time is thus described 
by Christ : ' ' There shall be signs in sun and moon 
and stars ; and upon the earth distress of nations, in 
perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows ; 
men fainting for fear and for expectation of the 
things which are coming on the world ; for the pow- 
ers of the heavens shall be shaken." 9 



1 Matt. xxiv. 14. »2 Thess. ii. 1-10. s 2 Peter iii. 3, 4. 

* Matt. xxiv. 9; Rev. vi. 9, 10. 'Matt. xxv. 32-34. 

8 Rev. xvi. 12; Rev. xvii. 16-18. 7 Luke xvii. 26-30. 

8 Acts ii. 20. 'Luke xxi. 25, 26. 



302 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

There is to be in the midst of the wonders in earth 
and air and sky, a special sign which will show the world 
it is the presence of the Day of God. " But imme- 
diately after the tribulation of those days, the sun 
shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her 
light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the 
powers of the heavens shall be shaken : and thr.i 
shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. " ' 
Luther refers to this passage as follows : "A some- 
thing strikingly awful shall forewarn that the world 
will come to an end and that the last day is even at 
the door." Alford writes upon this passage: "Such 
prophecies are to be understood literally, and indeed 
without such understanding would lose their truth 
and significance. The physical signs will happen." 
As to the "sign of the Son of man in heaven" he 
writes, ■ ' This is manifestly some sign in the heavens, 
by which all shall know that the Son of man is at 
hand. . . . On the whole I think no sign com- 
pletely answers the conditions but that of the cross, 
and accordingly we find the Fathers mostly thus ex- 
plaining the passage." 2 

The effect of this definite announcement of the 
imminent advent of Christ himself in person, is given 
us in the following extract from the vision of John, 
1 ' The kings of the earth, and the princes, and the 
chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every 
bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves 
and in the rocks of the mountains ; and they say to 
the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide 
us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, 
and from the wrath of the Lamb : for the great day 
of their wrath is come ; and who is able to stand ? " s 

The appearing of Christ himself is the great event 
of the Day of the Lord. Although there are many 
events connected with the age called the Day of the 

J Matt. xxiv. 29, 30. "Greek Testament, In loco. 

3 Rev. vi. 15-17. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 303 

Lord, yet so great is this event that it is often spoken 
of in Scripture as the beginning and end of all. 
Nearly every body of believers has given it a place 
in their expressions of belief. Whatever difference 
exists as to times or order of events there is practical 
unanimity that Christ will come and call the world 
to judgment. It was the hope of the apostolic and 
patristic churches, and has been, as Dr. David 
Brown says, the pole star of the church. In two 
great facts all evangelical believers agree as to the 
coming of Christ. It is personal and possible ; per- 
sonal as to its nature, and always possible as to its 
occurrence. Some expressions from learned and 
devout writers as to the importance of this event are 
here given. 

Dr. Albert Barnes wrote : — 

*' It may be added with great force, whether Christians 
now have any such expectation of the appearing of the Lord 
Jesus, or whether they have not fallen into the dangerous 
error of the prevailing unbelief, so that the expectation of his 
coming is allowed to exert almost no influence on the soul. 
In the passage before us, Paul says that it was one of the 
distinct characteristics of the Christian, that he looked for 
the coming of the Saviour from heaven. Let us look for the 
coming of the Lord All that we hope for depends in his 
appearing. Our days of triumph, and our fulness of joy, 
are to be when he shall return." 

The Westminster Confession contains this para- 
graph:— 

••As Christ would have us to be certain that there shall 
be a day of judgment, both to deter all men from sin, and for 
the consolation of the godly, so will he have that day un- 
known to men, that they may shake off all carnal security, 
and be always watchful; because they know not at what hour 
the Lord will come, and may be ever prepared to say, • Come, 
Lord Jesus, come quickly.'" 

Bishop Ryle wrote : — 

" I believe that the second coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ will be a real, literal, personal, bodily coming. That 



304 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

as he went away in the clouds of heaven with his body, before 
the eyes of men, so in like manner will he return." 

Spurgeon said : — 

" O Christian, do you know that your Lord is coming? 
In such an hour as ye think not, the man who was hung on 
Calvary, will descend in glory ; the head that was crowned 
with thorns will shine with a diadem of brilliant jewels." 

Matthew Henry thus comments : — 

" To watch implies not only to believe that our Lord will 
come, but to desire that he would come, to be often thinking 
of his coming, and always looking for it as soon and near and 
the time of it uncertain. Our looking at Christ's second 
coming as at a distance is the cause of all those irregularities 
that render the thought of it terrible." 

Thomas Chalmers wrote : — 

" Let us await the coming of our Lord. ... I desire 10 
cherish a more habitual and practical faith than heretofore 
in that coming which even the first Christians were called to 
hope for with all earnestness, even though many centuries 
were to elapse ere the hope could be realized." 

Rev. George Mueller, founder of the Orphan 
Houses, Bristol, England, and author of "The Life 
of Trust," writes: — 

" The effect it produced upon me was this : From my 
inmost soul I was stirred up to feel for perishing sinners and 
for the slumbering world around me living in the wicked one, 
and considered, Ought I not to do what I can to win souls 
for the Lord Jesus while he tarries, and to rouse a slumber- 
ing church ? " 

Calvin wrote : — 

"Not to hesitate, ardently desiring the day of Christ's 
coming as of all events the most auspicious." 1 

Luther said : — 

" I ardently hope that amidst the internal dissensions of 
earth, Jesus Christ will hasten the day of his coming." 

Richard Baxter said : — 

1 Book iii, chap. 9. 






CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 305 

" The thoughts of the coming of the Lord are of all most 
sweet and joyful to me, so that if I were but sure that I 
should live to see it, and that the trumpet should sound, and 
the dead should arise, and the Lord appear before the period 
of my age, it would be the joyfulest tidings to me in the 
world." 1 

The coming of Christ is sometimes spoken of as 
the descent of the Holy Ghost, the destruction of 
Jerusalem, the spiritual coming to the believer, death, 
chastisement, and special judgments. Some of these 
are so termed in Scripture as the spiritual coming and 
chastisement and judgments, others, as death, are 
not ; and others, as the first two, were past when the 
Revelation was written. None of these fully satisfy in 
any measure the statements of Scripture such as are 
quoted herein. One feature of this great event must 
be kept in view. As stated by Jamieson, Fausset & 
Brown : ' ' Christ's second coming is not a mere point 
of time but a period beginning with the resurrection 
of the just and ending with the general judgment." 
In this latter advent there are many appearings of 
Christ. He appears again and again during the 
progress of that long day. He appears for his peo- 
ple and with them. He appears to his people alone 
and to the assembled world. He appears as a single 
dazzling center of ineffable light, and again among 
his people, arrayed like them and riding forward with 
them to victory. So we must be prepared to see all 
through the Day of God one great Figure frequently 
appearing upon the scene. 

In his entrance upon the work of the day of the 
Lord, Christ adopts a wholly different appearance, 
attitude, and method of procedure. The Christ of 
the Revelation is a very different manifestation from 
the Christ of the Gospels or the Epistles. In the 
Gospels he is the lowly traveler, toiling, teaching, 
until his strength is gone. In the Epistles he is 
invisible. The world knows him only on evidence. 

30 >Vol. 17, p. 555. 



306 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

He is sitting at God's right hand in expectancy, and 
by his church beseeching them to be reconciled to 
God. He is patiently bearing man's neglect and pro- 
fanity. His people are persecuted and killed, and he 
makes no sign of displeasure or even knowledge. 
They cry to him and he waits long before avenging 
their wrongs. His truth is denied and vilified, and 
he is silent. The world takes possession of the fair- 
est portions of earth and turns them into scenes of 
sin and cruelty, and he appears to see it not. In the 
Apocalypse all is changed. Christ is no longer sit- 
ting, but in every form of activity. He is the Christ 
of energy. He is coming in clouds, riding on horse- 
back, leading armies, smiting down evils, taking 
vengeance upon all foes, calling the dead to life, 
summoning the world to judgment, and dealing out 
justice with a high hand. He is seen leading his 
people in triumph, openly rewarding them, and 
crowning them with glory. 

The work of Christ in the Day of the Lord begins 
with his own people. Two events relating to them 
are described in the following scriptures : ' ' But we 
would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning 
them that fall asleep ; that ye sorrow not, even as 
the rest, which have no hope. For if we believe 
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also 
that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with 
him. For this we say unto you by the word of the 
Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the 
coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them 
that are fallen asleep. For the Lord himself shall 
descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of 
the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the 
dead in Christ shall rise first : then we that are alive, 
that are left, shall together with them be caught up 
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and 
so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore 
comfort one another with these words." 1 Nothing 

1 1 Thess. iv. 12-18. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 307 

can add to the clearness of this account, nor could 
comment make more plain supernatural experiences 
such as these, which we must await until we enjoy one 
or other of them, as we certainly shall. 

The resurrection of the departed believer is here 
placed before the translation of the living. There is 
a longing to be among those who shall so be " caught 
up in the clouds," but the apostle, for our own sakes 
as well as for the sake of those who sorrow over the 
loss of dear ones, tells us the departed shall come 
first. Death is the enemy of the human race. This 
is as true of the believer as of any other. The vic- 
tory over it is always associated with the resurrection. 
It is in a sense a victory for the believer to die in 
peace and joy, but this is not the victory spoken of 
in the scripture. The victory of Christ was won at 
his resurrection. The victory of his people over 
death is won at their resurrection, and as Satan has 
the power of death, it is their victory over 
Satan. 

The above scripture also plainly teaches us that 
the resurrection of the believers is to precede that of 
all others. This is mentioned in several other places. 
The following scripture seems emphatic upon this 
point; it describes such a resurrection: "And I 
saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment 
was given unto them : and I saw the souls of them 
that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, 
and for the word of God, and such as worshiped not 
the beast, neither his image, and received not the 
mark upon their forehead and upon their hand ; and 
they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 
The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand 
years should be finished. This is the first resurrec- 
tion. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the 
first resurrection : over these the second death hath 
no power ; but they shall be priests of God and of 
Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." 1 

1 Rev. xx. 4-6. 



308 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

On this passage Alford writes thus : — 

'* I cannot consent to distort words from their plain sense 
and chronological place in the prophecy, on account of any 
considerations of difficulty, or risk of abuses which the doc- 
trine of the millennium may bring with it. Those who lived 
next to the apostles and the whole church for three hundred 
years, understood them in the plain, literal sense ; and it is a 
strange sight in these days to see expositors who are among 
the first in reverence of antiquity, complacently casting aside 
the most cogent instance of consensus which primitive an- 
tiquity presents. As regards the text itself no legitimate 
treatment of it will extort what is known as the spiritual inter- 
pretation now in fashion. . . . 

" It seems to me that if in a sentence where two resurrec- 
tions are spoken of, with no mark of distinction (it is other- 
wise in John v. 28, which is commonly alleged for the view I 
am combating), — in a sentence where one resurrection hav- 
ing been related, 'the rest of the dead' are afterward men- 
tioned, — we are at liberty to understand the former one 
figuratively and spiritually, and the latter literally and mate- 
rially, then there is an end of definite meaning in plain words, 
and the Apocalypse, or any other book, may mean anything 
we please. ... I have again and again raised my earnest 
protest against evading the plain sense of words, and spir- 
itualizing in the midst of plain declarations of fact." l 

Christlieb thus writes : — 

"The resurrection power coming from Christ, through 
the medium of his word and sacraments, tends mainly to the 
sanctification of and the renewing of the sinner ; and thus 
interpenetrates first the spiritual nature of man, planting 
within those who are regenerate, a germ for the resurrection 
of the body. Then the spiritual life of Christ breaks forth 
into a manifestation in the visible world by revivifying the 
bodies of those who are sanctified in the first resurrection. 
In the succeeding general resurrection this grand and grad- 
ually progressive process of the world's renewal has its fitting 
consummation." 2 

As to the subject at large, the following comments 
are given. From Moses Stuart on The Apocalyse : — 

'Greek New Testament, Vol. 4, pp. 731, 7^2. 

2 "Modern Doubt and Christian Belief," American Tract Society, 
pp. 451,4.52. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 309 

"After investigating this subject I have doubts whether 
the assertion is correct that such a doctrine as that of the 
first resurrection is nowhere else found in the Scriptures. 
What can Paul mean when he represents himself as readily 
submitting to every kind of suffering and affliction, ' If by any 
means he might attain to the resurrection from the dead?' 
Of a figurative resurrection or regeneration, Paul cannot be 
speaking, for he had already attained to that on the plains of 
Damascus. Of the like tenor with the text seems to be the 
implication in Luke xiv. 14 : ' Thou shalt be recompensed at 
the resurrection of the just.' Why the resurrection of the 
• just ' ? This would agree entirely with the view in Rev. xx. 5. 
There is more reason to believe that such is the simple mean- 
ing of the words in Luke xiv. 14, inasmuch as two recent 
antipodes in theology, Olshausen and De Wette, both agree 
in this exegesis : ' The Apocalypse teaches a twofold resur- 
rection ; first, of the saints at the beginning of the millen- 
nium, the second, of all men at the final consummation.' " 

Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge writes : — 

"It is commonly alleged that this coming of the Lord is in 
his glory and all his holy angels with him, for it is repeatedly 
so declared in the Scriptures. Moreover that the resurrec- 
tion of the dead will occur at that time, which is true, but not 
exactly in the sense generally understood ; for it is expressly 
declared by the apostle John that none but such as he de- 
scribes will reign with Christ a thousand years or have any 
part in the first resurrection, and that the rest of the dead 
live not again until the thousand years are finished." 1 

The first resurrection is also referred to in the fol- 
lowing passage : " For as in Adam all die so also in 
Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own 
order ; Christ the first-fruits ; then they that are 
Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end when 
he shall deliver up the kingdom to God even the 
Father." 2 Jamieson, Fausset & Brown comment on 
this as follows : — 

"Every man in his 'own order.' The Greek is not ab- 
stract but concrete ; image from troops each in his own regi- 

1 " Knowledge of God Subjectively Considered," New York, 1869, 
pp. 677, 678. 

• I Cor. xv. 22-24. 



310 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

merit. Though all shall rise, not all shall be saved, nay, each 
shall have his proper place. Christ first, after him the godly 
who die in Christ in a separate band from the ungodly. Then 
the ' end,' i. e., the resurrection of the ' rest of the dead.' " l 

The distinction between the two resurrections is 
seen in the names applied to each ; the one is the 
resurrection to life, the other to judgment, to shame, 
and contempt. The distinction between the two 
resurrections is further observed by the use of the 
respective phrases, "the resurrection from the dead," 
and "the resurrection of the dead." The saints are 
raised owl from among the dead. So the word ' ' from " 
is always applied to the resurrection of Christ, it 
will be observed in the above mentioned passages. 
This first resurrection is also spoken of as "a better 
resurrection." 2 Christ speaks of they that are ac- 
counted to attain that world (age) and the resurrection 
from the dead." 8 It is spoken of as special, prior, 
and eclectic. General scriptures about the resurrec- 
tions must be interpreted in accordance with these 
special ones. 

There has been a great change from the days of 
the apostles in the way the resurrection of the believer 
has been relegated to the rear, and death brought for- 
ward as the hope of the believer. The late Dr. A. J. 
Gordon thus writes on this subject : — 

" Indeed I may say in popular appreciation, death has 
very largely usurped the place that belongs to the resurrection. 
But death, we must remember, is an enemy. It never was and 
never can be anything but an enemy. It is cruel, repulsive, 
and humbling. But man has learned to idealize this hideous 
enemy into a good angel. Indeed, I think it would be no ex- 
aggeration to say that in the appreciation of many Christians, 
death has been thrust into the place that belongs to Christ. 
The crown of welcome which we should ever be waiting to put 
upon the head of him who will swallow up death in victory, is 
put upon the ghostly brow of him who is daily swallowing up 
life in defeat." 

1 " Critical Commentary," Chicago, 1885. 8 Heb. xi. 35. 

3 Luke xx. 35. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 311 

The poet Young writes : — 

" Death gives us more than was in Eden lost. 
The king of terrors is the Prince of Peace." 

There is little said in Scripture as to the state of 
the departed believer in the so called "the middle 
state." There are a few words, enough to satisfy our 
longings, and to assure us it is well with them. We 
are told of the dying beggar being carried by the 
angels into Abraham's bosom, and in that we may see 
all our dear ones so carried, and believe we shall be 
so also. We read that the saints rest from their 
labors, and so shall we. They are with Jesus, as Paul 
tells us he longed to be at his departure. We have, 
as the dying malefactor, the same promise to be with 
Christ in paradise. This is about all we are told of 
the saints in the middle state, for it is not on this our 
minds or hearts are to be set. It is not to death but 
to victory over death we are to look for our hope. 

The second great event at the coming of Christ 
is described in these words : ' ' Behold, I tell you a 
mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be 
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at 
the last trump : for the trumpet shall sound, and the 
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be 
changed. For this corruptible must put on incorrup- 
tion, and this mortal must put on immortality." 1 
Death is not inevitable. It has not been an unknown 
thing that some escaped death. There has been 
one out of each age who so went to be with God ; 
Enoch out of the antideluvian age, Elijah from the 
Israelitish, and, it is believed by some, John out of 
the gospel age. To never die, to miss the pain and 
dying and grave and the decay and all, is a consum- 
mation to be wished as we wish for nothing else ex- 
cept salvation and Christ. This will be the happy 
lot of some, — "we shall not all die." 

»l Cor. xv. 51-53. 



312 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

It is to this strange taking away Christ refers in 
this passage, "I say unto you, In that night there 
shall be two men on one bed ; the one shall be 
taken, and the other shall be left. There shall be 
two women grinding together ; the one shall be taken, 
and the other shall be left. And they answering, say 
unto him, Where, Lord ? And he said unto them, 
Where the body is, thither will the eagles also be 
gathered together. " 1 

This is the individual aspect of this wonderful 
change from life on earth to life in heaven. It will 
be instantaneous all over the world. In some places 
it will be night and will find the believer asleep ; in 
other places it will be early morning and find a 
humble woman at her early toil ; in other places 
still, it will be broad day and some are at their labor 
in the fields. It makes little difference to the child 
of God what his immediate occupations are, whether 
Christ calls him asleep or awake. In an instant he 
is gone from the presence of the companion of his 
labor or bed. There will be no time for partings. 
Some are united in life who are not so in the Lord — 
companions, partners in business, friends, but divided 
in this, the greatest of all concerns. 

The above passage of scripture intimates a private 
and secret call, and flight to an unseen center. This 
is the view taken by many thorough students of this 
subject ; that the Christian is called secretly and 
before any alarm has been given the world. It may 
be so. There does not, however, seem to be any 
definite statement as to such a calling, and the above 
is not conclusive. On the other hand, the scriptures 
previously quoted are clear that there is world-wide 
alarm: "The trumpet shall sound, and the dead 
shall be raised, and we shall be changed;" "The 
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God ; " "The 
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout 

1 Luke xvii. 34-37. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 313 

and the voice of the archangel, and with the trump 
of God." It seems clear that all happens at the 
inburst of the Day of the Lord upon the world. It 
is, however, before all or perhaps any of his judgment 
work begins. It is probable that Christ himself is 
not yet revealed personally to the world, as in the 
conversion of Paul the company did not see Christ. 
The above-mentioned thoughts are confirmed by the 
scriptures presenting the public aspect of Christ 
calling his own people : ' ' He shall send forth his 
angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they 
shall gather together his elect from the four winds, 
from one end of heaven to the other." 1 

There is a line of very searching scriptures which 
intimate one may come up to the very day and into 
it and think it is well with himself and yet be mis- 
taken, and find this out at the last. The five foolish 
virgins are waiting as the others, and have lamps and 
expect to enter in to the wedding, and are excluded. 
At the very table of the marriage feast the guest with- 
out the wedding garment was detected and cast out. 
Lot's wife escaped from Sodom, but was destroyed, 
while he himself and his daughters escape "as by 
fire." The Lord himself tells us as follows : 
' ' When once the master of the house is risen up, 
and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand 
without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, 
open to us ; and he shall answer and say to you, I 
know you not whence ye are ; then shall ye begin to 
say, We did eat and drink in thy presence, and thou 
didst teach in our streets ; and he shall say, I tell 
you, I know not whence ye are ; depart from me, all 
ye workers of iniquity." 2 There are also the warn- 
ings of the salt which has lost its savor, and the al- 
lusions to the "reprobate" and the "cast-away" and 
Esau who lost his birthright. There is the possibility 
of a tremendous loss here, and even the loss of the 

J Matt. xxiv. 31. 'Luke xiii. 25-27. 



314 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

soul. Bunyan pictures a trap-door to hell from the 
very gate of the Celestial City. Christ will then 
thoroughly purge his threshing-floor. He shall have 
no Judas this time among the holy band or any who 
will turn into such. 

The event which appears to follow the resurrec- 
tion of the believer and his gathering together with 
Christ is thus described : ' ' For we must all be made 
manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ ; that 
each one may receive the things done in the body, 
according to what he hath done, whether it be good 
or bad." 1 This is not the final judgment in which 
the world appears before the great white throne. 
The reasons for so concluding are as follows : First, 
the direct statements of Scripture : ' ' Verily, verily, 
I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and be- 
lieveth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and com- 
eth not into judgment, but hath passed out of death 
into life." 2 It would place on trial again those who 
have answered for their sins in the person of their 
Substitute. Christ, as we have seen, has satis- 
fied every demand for his people and kept their 
record clean by his intercession. After being jus- 
tified, and the witness of the Spirit given to them, 
and being raised in glory or translated, to be 
again placed on trial for sins which were laid on 
Christ and borne by him, and the claims of divine 
justice fully met, and all declared sufficient, and the 
blood of Christ satisfactory, — after all this, it is in- 
conceivable that there should be either any doubt 
of their salvation, or any other reason for their being 
placed on trial. 

Second, the saints are to assist at the general 
judgment of the world: "Know ye not that the 
saints shall judge the world ? Know ye not that we 
shall judge angels?" 8 If we are to sit with Christ 

1 1 1 Cor. v. 10. "John v. 24. 8 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 315 

in the judgment of the world, it is wholly incongru- 
ous that we should be placed at the bar of judgment 
ourselves. Third, nor can we see how it is possible 
for the departed saint to be brought back from para- 
dise and the presence of Jesus and placed with the 
abandoned and condemned of earth even to hear the 
verdict of "Not guilty," which they heard long ago 
in life or certainly knew in heaven. Fourth, the ap- 
pearance of the Christian before the great white 
throne is not required by the account of that event. 
It is the "dead" who there appear, and the believer 
is not "dead" then. Fifth, there is no similarity 
between these two judgments. The word describing 
the sinner's "judgment" is not used of the Chris- 
tian's. The issues of the great white throne are final 
and fatal, and some of the ones we are discussing are 
not. Sixth, There is no reason for interpreting this 
as the judgment of the world, and the further scrip- 
tures we shall consider show it is far different in the 
persons and things judged and the results, and in the 
time when it comes. 

Schmidt writes on this : — 

" The judgment of the church is distinguished from the 
universal judgment, and is thus represented in the parables 
of the ten virgins and the talents. The former judgment has 
to do in faithful conduct in Christ's kingdom." 1 

Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge writes thus : — 

"The resurrection of life, the resurrection of the just, 
the judgment of the saints, and their reign, are altogether 
distinct from the resurrection of damnation, the resurrection 
of the unjust, and the judgment and perdition of ungodly 
men. The judgment of the saints is not to ascertain their 
salvation, but to disclose and to proclaim the special ground 
upon which each crown is gained, the special grounds upon 
which each crown was won — all to the infinite glory of the 
Lord and the unutterable joy of the redeemed." 2 

1 " Biblico Theological New Testament," quoted in " Premillennial 
Essays," Chicago, 1879, p. 501. 

3 *' Knowledge of God Subjectively Considered," New York, 1869, 
p. 680. 



3l6 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

The matters for which the believer is to be judged 
are ■ ' the things done in the body, " good and bad. 
The Scriptures are full of the promises of reward for 
faithful doing. The most emphatic of these, and the 
one further locating this judgment, is the words of 
Christ himself : • ' Behold, I come quickly ; and my 
reward is with me, to render to each man according 
as his work is." * 

Not a service done for Christ loses its reward. 
" For his sake," is the criterion by which everything 
is to be judged. The sacrifices of the believer are then 
shown and rewarded. It is then the Beatitudes are 
completely fulfilled. Then those who have laid up 
treasure in heaven receive it with manifold interest. 
All losses are made good. Then it is the promises 
are fulfilled, made "to him that overcometh. " It is 
then the righteous "shine forth as the sun in the 
kingdom of their Father." At this time the faithful 
servants are rewarded for good use of their pounds 
and talents. At this time, too, is the promise made 
good — ' ' They that be wise shall shine as the bright- 
ness of the firmament ; and they that turn many to 
righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." 2 The 
rewards are of glory, power, and privilege. The glory, 
as has been shown by Paul, differs as one star differs 
from another. The power, as the ruler over ten cities 
is superior to the ruler over one city. Among the 
privileges seem to be nearness to the person of Christ. 
There were two who asked that they might sit on his 
right hand and left. Christ said this was to be given 
to those for whom it was prepared. The twelve he 
promised should " sit with me on my throne." In the 
distribution of rewards it is not against one that he 
came in at the eleventh hour. 

The believer is also to be judged for the things 
done in the body which were bad. This also looks 
to services. Paul speaks of such works : • ' For other 
1 Rev. xxii. 12. * Dan. xii. 3. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 317 

foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, 
which is Jesus Christ. But if any man buildeth on the 
foundation, gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stub- 
ble ; each man's work shall be made manifest : for 
the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire ; 
and the fire itself shall prove each man's work of what 
sort it is. If any man's work shall abide which he 
built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any 
man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss ; but 
he himself shall be saved ; yet so as through fire. " * 

There is a searching process here which will be 
terrible to works done from wrong motives, or works 
left undone. Christ said to each of the seven churches, 
or rather to the angel or minister of the church, for 
these seven letters are to the ministers of these 
churches first of all : "I know thy works." The 
judgment of Christ is of the persons as well as of 
their works. ' ' Saved as by fire " intimates a search- 
ing personal examination. The Christian life will be 
gone into by Christ as we are told by the apostles. 
Every secret thing not repented of and confessed, 
will be exposed, to the shame and mortification of the 
doer. Paul writes of issues to come up in this judg- 
ment : "Wherefore judge nothing before the time, 
until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the 
hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the 
counsels of the hearts ; and then shall each man 
have his praise from God." 2 All wrong estimates 
of men will be set right, and the result will be as 
Christ has said, "Many that are first will be last, 
and the last will be first." All idle words, as Christ 
said, will be accounted for at the day of this judg- 
ment. All unsettled quarrels will be brought to ac- 
count. 

The fact of the chastening of the unfaithful servant 
at the judgment of the saints, is also taught directly 
by Christ in this scripture : " But if that servant 
1 1 Cor. iii. 11-15. 8 1 Cor. iv. 5. 



318 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming ; 
and shall begin to beat the menservants and the maid- 
servants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken ; 
the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he 
expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not, 
and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion 
with the unfaithful. And that servant, which knew 
his lord's will, and made not ready, nor did according 
to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes ; but he 
that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall 
be beaten with few stripes. And to whomsoever 
much is given, of him shall much be required : and to 
whom they commit much, of him will they ask the 
more." 1 Here is certain exposure, condemnation, 
and more, for the fruitless or faithless servant. ' ' Beaten 
with many stripes " does not mean the loss of the soul, 
but it does mean more than has been generally taught. 
The "stripes" are connected with the coming of 
Christ. The same truth is taught in the parables of 
the same talents when the unprofitable servant is cast 
out "into the outer darkness: there shall be the 
weeping and gnashing of teeth." 2 Olshausen thus 
comments on this : — 

" The reference is not to eternal condemnation, but to ex- 
clusion from the Basilia [kingdom] into which the faithful 
enter. The Basilia is viewed as the region of light, which is 
encircled by darkness. 

"Concerning the children of light who are unfaithful to 
their vocation, it is said they are cast into the skotos (darkness) : 
but as respecting the children of darkness, we are told they 
are consigned to the pur aionion (eternal fire) so that each 
one finds his own punishment in the opposite element." 8 

The judgment and rewarding of the saints con- 
tinues as long as there are those who are Christ's to 
be so judged. This continues, as we will see, during 
the whole age of the judgments in which the gospel is 

1 Luke xii. 45-48. 8 Matt. xxv. 30. 

'" Gospels," 4 Vols., Edinburgh, 1855 > Vo1 - 3» P- 2 %7- 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 319 

preached, and some are being saved. The number is 
not therefore complete until the close of the period of 
earth judgments ; and as it seems probable that Christ 
himself does not appear visibly upon the scene until 
the close of the judgments upon earth, it is fair to as- 
sume he is occupied with his people above. 

While Christ is dealing with his true followers, the 
unfaithful church left on earth enters into great tribu- 
lation as Israel did for her rejection of Christ. This 
is foretold by Christ and also by Daniel. 1 These are 
great afflictive dealings evidently accompanied by 
persecution in which the visible church is overthrown, 
her people scattered and rendered homeless and sub- 
jected to great hardships by the enemies of God, who 
by this time have recovered from their terror, and 
blaming the people of Christ, turn upon them in fury. 

Dr. James W. Alexander wrote to a friend : — 

" I was struck with these words of Chalmers to Bicker- 
steth : ' But without slacking in the least our obligation to 
keep forward this great cause, I look for its conclusive estab- 
lishment through a widening passage of desolating judgments, 
with the utter demolition of our present civil and ecclesias- 
tical structures.' " 

The character of the victors in this fearful strug- 
gle and their triumph and deliverance are described 
in this passage : * ■ After these things I saw, and, be- 
hold, a great multitude, which no man could number, 
out of every nation and of all tribes, and peoples, and 
tongues, standing before the throne, and before the 
Lamb, arrayed in white robes and palms in their 
hands : and they cry with a great voice, saying, Sal- 
vation unto our God which sitteth on the throne, and 
unto the Lamb. . . . And one of the elders an- 
swered, saying unto me, These which are arrayed in 
the white robes, who are they, and whence came 
they ? And I say unto him, My Lord, thou knowest. 
And he said to me, These are they which come out of 

x Matt. xxiv. 21 ; Dan. xii. 1. 



320 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb. There- 
fore are they before the throne of God ; and they 
serve him day and night in his temple : and he that 
sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over 
them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst 
any more; neither shall the sun strike upon them, 
nor any heat : for the Lamb which is in the midst of 
the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide 
them unto fountains of waters of life : and God shall 
wipe away every tear from their eyes." 1 The refer- 
ences to hunger, thirst, exposure, and tears, indicate 
the character of their peculiar sufferings in the great 
tribulation they endure. 



The judgments of the Day of God fall upon widen- 
ing circles as did the giving of the gospel whose 
course they follow. First, as we have seen, Christ 
begins with his own people, then that part of the 
world called in the Apocalypse "the third part of 
earth." This we think is that called Christendom, 
after the removal of God's people. It occupies the 
same territory ruled by that strange prophetic power, 
Rome, and exercises the same authority over the rest 
of the earth. It is a peculiar part of the world when 
looked at in the long perspective of history. While 
other parts of the world have had the gospel and lost 
it, this part of the earth has been blessed by its pres- 
ervation. It has been, so far as locality and autonomy 
and authority and sphere of influence are concerned, 
the special field of the visible Christian church. 
Nearly every nation of civilization is professedly Chris- 
tian. The state publicly acknowledges the Christian 
religion, indeed the ruler of the state is in many cases 
the head also of the church. For centuries, indeed 
for the greater part of the time since the gospel came, 
the church has ruled the state. The popes were 
1 Rev. vii. 9-17. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 32 1 

princes, and their power supreme. The church still 
controls the state. The Christian church to-day 
rules as truly as it did in the supremest days of tem- 
poral power. Mr. Gladstone thus writes : — 

"Christianity is the religion in the command of whose 
professors is lodged a proportion of power far exceeding its 
superiority of numbers; and this power is both moral and ma- 
terial. In the area of controversy it can hardly be said to 
have a serious antagonist. Force, secular or physical, is ac- 
cumulated in the hands of Christians in a proportion abso- 
lutely overwhelming ; and the accumulation of influence is not 
less remarkable than that of force. This is not surprising, for 
all the elements of influence have their home within the 
Christian precinct. The art, the literature, the systematized 
industry, invention, and commerce — in one word, the power 
— of the world are almost wholly Christian. The nations of 
Christendom are everywhere arbiters of the fate of non-Chris- 
tian nations." 1 

After the true people of God have been removed 
from earth, the character and record before God of 
this highly favored part of the earth will come into 
judgment. The record of all spiritual work will have 
gone with God's people as their part. What will be 
the record of Christendom ? It has laid hands on the 
fairest regions of the world ' ' for their good " and os- 
tensibly to "extend civilization," really to extend 
national power and trade and to enrich the merchants 
of the dominant nations. It has taken, without com- 
pensation, from weaker nations their God-given her- 
itage, and in doing so has turned these lands into 
scenes of bloodshed. The work of the missionary of 
the gospel has been taken advantage of, and has been 
followed by the trader, and he by the soldier. There 
has followed them the train of evils which have de- 
stroyed these peoples. Opium was forced into China 
by Christendom. Rum is being poured into Africa by 
Christendom. Where the so-called Christian civiliza- 
tion has appeared, the native races have gone down 
by its drugs, drinks, and diseases. It has put into 
1 Introduction to People's Bible History, Chicago, 1895. 
31 



322 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

the hands of these races, arms and material of most 
diabolically consummate perfection for the destruc- 
tion of human life. It calls the arming of these peo- 
ples with these infernal weapons "advancing in 
progress and civilization. " It lends them money for 
this purpose and sends them teachers who instruct 
them in the satanic art of wholesale butchery of hu- 
man life, and sets them at war with each other, and 
profits by their mutual destruction. 

There has been given the nations of whole conti- 
nents, in place of their original paganism, a bastard 
Christianity more difficult to overthrow than their 
pagan faith. It is the scholarship of these lands of 
Christendom which is attacking so persistently and 
insidiously the foundations of faith. Infidelity, blas- 
phemy, and profanity are sins only of Christian lands. 
In these lands is presented such vice as sends the 
heathen visitors home scandalized at the exhibition. 
The greatest crime of Christendom, besides her cor- 
rupting of the peoples of the earth, is her slaughter 
of the saints. The story of the persecutions is a well 
and often told tale. Suffice it to say that the blood 
of the saints of Christ rests upon Christendom. The 
pagan persecutions lasted but for a short time and 
destroyed few in comparison. But the so-called 
Christian nations, it is estimated by good authorities, 
have slain fifty millions of the best and purest follow- 
ers of Christ. This has never been punished as yet ; 
nor has it been repented of. As Christ said of Israel 
that upon that generation would fall all the blood of 
all the saints slain from Abel to Zacharias, the last 
victim of their fury, so on this Christless Christendom 
will fall the full and awful measure of the just reward 
of their destructive work in doctrine, in life, in 
heathen nations, and at home, — all done in the light 
of gospel and under the reign of grace. 

The day of her visitation for all this is approach- 
ing. The God of heaven and earth is not oblivious 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 323 

to the awful sins of Christendom. That part of the 
world entrusted with the gospel continuously for 
nineteen hundred years, need not suppose God is so 
enraptured with its civilization and progress as to shut 
his eyes to these awful sins against the nations of the 
earth, against the people of God, and against Christ. 
As certainly as the hand of God fell upon the Israel 
in the destruction of their cities and their polity and 
their dispersion abroad over the face of the earth, so 
will the judgments of the same God who changes not, 
fall upon this greater Israel to whom he has committed 
a far greater wealth of material, intellectual, and, 
above all, spiritual privileges. 

The judgments of the Day of God are represented 
under the symbols of seven sounding trumpets, and 
seven poured out vials. Each series commencing in 
a judgment alarm and followed by an interval of 
relief from the plagues, in which mercy is offered, 
God's people are gathered out, Satan's power put 
forth, and the world still further apostatizes, still 
greater judgments fall, until the last great conflict 
closes the day. The first great alarm announc- 
ing the Judgment day appears to pass away as time 
goes on and no immediate judgments follow. The 
world relapses into the former state of indiffer- 
ence, as we shall see is the case all along in the 
respites, and as we see now in the case of ungodly 
people aroused for the time by some alarm. Sud- 
denly the sounding trumpets are heard. * These call 
for great afflictions affecting ' ' a third part of earth, " 
evidently that we call Christendom. The first four 
of these are calamities in nature affecting earth and 
sea and rivers and air. 

The succeeding judgment appears to be the ap- 
pearance and onslaught of myriads of satanic beings 
in some form. Their identity is established by the 
words, ' ' They have over them as king the angel of the 
abyss." They spare the face of nature, but spend 

1 Rev. viii. ix. 



324 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

their dreadful energy upon mankind. Nor do they 
kill, but only torment. It is recorded: "And in 
those days men shall seek death, and shall in no wise 
find it ; and they shall desire to die, and death flieth 
from them." 1 The next is also Satanic but more 
intense ; the beings are greater and more terrible in 
form and fury. The earth in all this time will be 
an awful place in which to live. Death will be far 
preferable, but for some reason will be impossible 
voluntarily. 

The cessation of the Trumpet Judgments gives a 
respite in which the following scripture is fulfilled : 
"And the rest of mankind which were not killed with 
these plagues, repented not of the works of their 
hands, that they should not worship devils, and the 
idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, 
and of wood ; which can neither see, nor hear, nor 
walk : and they repented not of their murders, nor of 
their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their 
thefts." 8 There is to be left on earth a residuum of 
hard impenitence which not even the positive proof 
of the reality of the unseen world and the visitation of 
dire penalty for godlessness and idolatry and demon 
worship will change. It seems incredible that such a 
state could exist during such a time. But we must 
bear in mind the length of this period. There are to 
be long respites. During these, mankind, as Pharaoh of 
old, hardens its heart. We have often thought that if 
the world could only be convinced of the truth of relig- 
ion, and perhaps feel some of the evils threatened in 
the Scriptures against sinners, they would repent. God 
will give all this to the world. There will be no effort 
spared to bring men to repentance and salvation. 
Christ had said, "If they hear not Moses and the 
prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rose 
from the dead." 3 They have this and far more, yet 
are not persuaded. There are present on earth all 

1 Rev. ix. 6. 2 Rev. ix. 20, SI. 'Luke xvi. 31. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 32$ 

this time, certain witnesses for God, who are either 
Moses and Elijah, or some of the same spirit and 
power. To these the world charges all their troubles 
and finally kills them and makes merry over their 
death, thinking they are now safe from further evils. 1 

In this time there rises a great satanic power 
which attains world-wide supremacy. 8 It is both polit- 
ical and religious. It is a church-state. The head 
is called in Scripture Antichrist, meaning a substitute 
for, and an opponent of, Christ. He is to be visible 
and reigning. He is to charm the world by his super- 
human intelligence, graciousness, and ability. The 
Scripture account is as follows : ' ' The whole earth 
wondered after the beast ; and they worshiped the 
dragon, because he gave his authority unto the beast ; 
and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like 
unto the beast ? and who is able to war with him ? 
and there was given to him a mouth speaking great 
things and blasphemies ; and there was given to him 
authority to continue forty and two months. And he 
opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to 
blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, even them 
that dwell in the heaven. And it was given unto him 
to make war with the saints, and to overcome them : 
and there was given to him authority over every tribe 
and people and tongue and nation. And all that 
dwell on the earth shall worship him, every one 
whose name hath not been written in the book of 
life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the 
world." 3 Under all his glory there is the beast, 
and Scripture so designates him. He has all the 
characteristics of the wild beasts whose names are 
attached to him. They have insisted on the beast 
origin of man, and glorified the animal. They have 
rejected God's Son and God, and have taken a beast 
as their supreme ruler. 

Dr. Dorner writes as follows on this subject : — 

•Rev. xi. 3-10. 'Revelation xiii. 8 Rev. xiii. 4-8. 



326 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

"The beast of Revelation is the world power hostile to 
God. The antichristian power is a union of the falsification 
of the divine worship with the hostile world power, the result 
of which is pseudo-Messiahship. Paul seems to regard the 
man of sin as an incarnation of the wicked antichristian power 
and as an individual." 1 

There is also a church for Antichrist (Revelation 
xvii) for he always imitates the work of God. He 
reigns as Christ will, and has a kingdom as Christ has, 
and now must have a spiritual body as Christ has in 
his church. This antichristian church is thus de- 
scribed : ' * I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored 
beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads 
and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple 
and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones 
and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of 
abominations, even the unclean things of her fornica- 
tion, and upon her forehead a name written, MYS- 
TERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER 
OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the 
saints and of the martyrs of Jesus." 2 The church is in 
a place of earthly splendor and in full league with 
Satan. It is the church of Christendom in the Day 
of the Lord. The ecclesiastical system is called 
Babylon as against Jesusalem the city of God. It is 
a concentration of all earthly and churchly grandeur, 
having such temples and such worship and all which is 
sensuous, as the world has never seen. This hier- 
archy has its prophet or head who represents his mas- 
ter, and works prodigies. 

The apostate church is represented under two 
figures, The harlot and Babylon. The symbol of a 
woman is everywhere in Scripture a figure of a church, 
true or apostate. The harlot represents the apos- 
tate spiritual body. She is now exalted to a state of 

1 " System of Christian Doctrine," Vol. 4, p. 388* 
• Rev. xvii. 3-6. 



THRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 327 

dignity outwardly never before enjoyed. Her place 
before was that of widowhood waiting for her return- 
ing Heavenly Spouse. She has given this up and re- 
jected him, for she boasts, " I sit a queen, and am no 
widow, and shall see no mourning." 

The following extended extract from Dr. Auberlin, 
describes the rise and nature of the mysterious body 
called the harlot : — 

"The word harlot describes the essential character of the 
false church. She retains her human shape, remains a 
woman, does not become a beast : she has the form of godli- 
ness but denies the power thereof. Her rightful husband, 
Jehovah — Christ, and the joys and goods of his house, are 
no longer hers all in all, but she runs after the visible and vain 
things of the world, in its manifold manifestations. This 
whoredom appears in its proper form where the church wishes 
itself to be a worldly power, uses politics and diplomacy, 
makes flesh her arm, uses unholy means for holy ends, 
spreads her dominion by sword or money, fascinates the 
hearts of men by sensual ritualism, allows herself to become 
' mistress of ceremonies ' to the dignitaries of this world, and 
flatters prince or people, the living or the dead. Whenever 
the church forgets that she is in the world even as Christ was 
in the world, as a bearer of the cross and a pilgrim, or that 
the world is crucified to her and judged, such is the character 
of the harlot ; and it is not only a church here, and a church 
there, it is not only the church in its individual manifesta- 
tions, that is meant here, but Christendom as a whole, even 
as Israel as a whole had become a harlot. The true believers 
are hidden and dispersed ; the invisible church is within the 
visible. It cannot be said, Here or there is the harlot, and 
here or there she is not, as little as it can be said, Lo, here 
is Christ, or there. The boundary lines which separate the 
harlot and woman, are not local, are not confessional." 1 

"John Michal Hahn says: 'The harlot is not the city 
of Rome alone, neither is it the Roman Catholic Church, to 
the exclusion of another, but all churches and every church, 
ours included ; viz., all Christendom which is without the 
spirit and life of our Lord Jesus, which calls itself Chris- 
tian, and has neither Christ's mind nor spirit. It is called 
Babylon, that is confusion, for false Christendom, divided 
into many churches and sects, is truly and strictly a con- 

x " Daniel and Revelation," pp. 287-289, 293. 



328 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

fuser. However in all churches, parties, and sects of Chris- 
tendom, the true Jesus congregation lives and is hidden.'" 1 

Babylon,* while identical in some respects with 
the harlot, is larger. It is the ecclesiastical system 
as distinguished from the spiritual body. In this time 
church and state are one. Antichrist as Christ, is to 
be the head of both church and state. The whole 
forms a vast world-wide combination of political and 
religious power which will far outstrip anything we 
know of now. With superhuman intelligence and 
the development of faculties now lying dormant in 
man and nature, there will be such advances in in- 
vention and discovery as to make all we see and 
know as the doings of children. The world will 
believe it has attained to the state of perfection 
and security and happiness. 

There is also a people of God on earth during the 
Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is not all 
judgment. Mercy is offered all this time. Peter 
in his Pentecostal discourse quotes the prophecy of 
Joel, giving the beginning and ending of the gospel 
age in which occurs this prophecy of the end : 
"Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord 
shall be saved." 3 God is not even in the Day of 
Judgment willing that any shall perish, but that all 
shall come unto him and live. All this is another 
effort to awaken mankind and make men see and 
hear and feel and repent. It is for this reason the 
respites are given. There are many other hints of 
the presence on earth of some of the people of God, 
all during the Day of Judgment. The satanic king- 
dom makes war with the saints and overcomes them, 
all on the earth worship him except those written 
in the Lamb's book of life. At this time is written, 
"Here is the patience and faith of the saints." 
Those who do not worship the image of the beast 

1 Vol. 5, sec. 6. 2 Revelation xviii. 'Acts ii. 31. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 329 

and who do not take his mark on head and hands 
are shut off from buying or selling. * It is sometimes 
stated that the Holy Spirit leaves the world with the 
translation of the people of God. There does not 
appear to be any Scriptural statement to this effect. 
It is an inference, and apparently unwarranted. 
Since there are people of God on earth all the time, 
as we have seen, the Holy Spirit must be with them. 
And as the gospel is preached, he remains to do his 
spiritual work in the gospel. 

After this occurs a world-wide call to repentance. 
This is after the rise and ascendancy of Antichrist 
and his political system and the satanic church, and 
just before the outpouring of the vials of wrath. 
* ' And I saw another angel flying in mid heaven, hav- 
ing an eternal gospel to proclaim unto them that 
dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe 
and tongue and people ; and he saith with a great 
voice, Fear God, and give him glory ; for the hour of 
his judgment is come : and worship him that made 
the heaven and the earth and the sea and fountains 
of waters." 2 This is undoubtedly a call to the heathen 
nations, or those to which the gospel was preached as 
"a witness." They now hear it certified to by this 
supernatural agency, and many believe and are saved. 
We read afterward of their state and fate : ' ' Here is 
the patience of the saints, they that keep the com- 
mandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I 
heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are 
the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth : yea, 
saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; 
for their works follow with them. " 3 Terrible perse- 
cution is implied in this, so that death is a blessed re- 
lief from their state of suffering. Those who are thus 
delivered from this greater Pharaoh and come across 
this greater Red Sea of deliverance are thus described : 

1 Rev. xiii. 7, 8, 10, 15, 17. * Rev. xiv. 6, 7. 

s Rev. xiv. 12, 13. 



330 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

"And I saw as it were a glassy sea mingled with fire ; 
and them that come victorious from the beast, and 
from his image, and from the number of his name, 
standing by the glassy sea, having harps of God. 
And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of 
God, and the song of the Lamb." 1 These are ex- 
pressly described as victors in the satanic age we 
have described in these scriptures. And that they 
were translated is a fair inference from their position 
and the figure of the sea and their song. 

It is at the climax of the triumphs of Antichrist's 
kingdom the new course of judgments are poured out. 
So it is before the beginning of the Day of God, this 
world is in the highest point of attainment of civiliza- 
tion and unbelief when the blackness of the last day 
falls upon it as a snare. So before the Trumpet Judg- 
ments. So now Antichrist is in the summit of his 
glory. The people of God have been once more al- 
most, if not altogether, exterminated. A long time 
of quiet from the plagues has passed. The world 
comes to believe their adored ruler is equal to any 
emergency which may -arise. They have forgotten 
again the plagues of the past. 

The vials are poured out. These are world-wide 
in extent. They are described as follows : ' ' And the 
first went and poured his bowl upon the earth ; and 
it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men 
which had the mark of the beast, and which worshiped 
his image. 

"And the second poured out his bowl into the 
sea ; and it became blood as of a dead man ; and 
every living soul died, even the things that were in 
the sea. 

" And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers 
and the fountains of the waters ; and it became blood. 
And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Righteous 
art thou, which art and which wast, thou Holy One, 

1 Rev. xv. 2, 3. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 33 1 

because thou didst thus judge : for they poured out 
the blood of saints and prophets, and blood hast thou 
given them to drink : they are worthy. And I heard 
the altar saying, Yea, O Lord God, the Almighty, true 
and righteous are thy judgments. 

' ' And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the 
sun ; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire. 
And men were scorched with great heat : and they 
blasphemed the name of the God which hath the 
power over these plagues ; and they repented not to 
give him glory. 

' ' And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the 
throne of the beast ; and his kingdom was darkened ; 
and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and they 
blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains 
and their sores ; and they repented not of their works. 

• ' And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the 
great river, the river Euphrates ; and the water 
thereof was dried up, that the way might be made 
ready for the kings that come from the sunris- 
ing. ... 

■ ' And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon 
the air, and there came forth a great voice out of the 
temple from the throne, saying, It is done : and there 
were lightnings, and voices, and thunders ; and there 
was a great earthquake, such as was not since there 
were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so 
mighty. And the great city was divided into three 
parts, and the cities of the nations fell ; and Babylon 
the great was remembered in the sight of God to give 
unto her the cup of wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 
And every island fled away and the mountains were 
not found. And a great hail, every stone about the 
weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon 
men ; and men blasphemed God because of the 
plague of the hail ; for the plague thereof is ex- 
ceeding great." 1 

1 Rev. xvi. 2-21. 



332 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

The course of the world under these awful judg- 
ments is noticeable as indicated by the last quotation. 
There is observed a gradual hardening and sinking in 
depravity under all this display of the supernatural 
and of wrath. We read that after the first warning, 
men were terrified and cried out in alarm, seeking a 
place of concealment, and calling on the rocks to 
cover them. But that is only fear and not repent- 
ance. After the first course of judgment, it is re- 
corded that "they repented not of their murders, nor 
of their sorceries, nor of their fornications, nor of 
their thefts." 1 Later they kill the witnesses of God 
and make merry over it. Still further they are angry 
as they hear that the end is approaching, and later 
still worship Satan openly as their lord and master, 
and engage with his vicegerent in all his persecutions 
and diabolism and uncleanness. Now as the terrors 
of the last judgment are actually falling upon them, 
we read three times as follows : ' ' They blasphemed 
the name of the God which hath the power over these 
plagues: and they repented not to give him glory." 
After another plague they gnawed their tongues for 
pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of 
their pains and their sores : and they repented not of 
their works. And at the last, " Men blasphemed 
God because of the plague of the hail." 2 All that dis- 
play of the reality and terror of eternity is in vain. 
It produces naught but blasphemy. So Christ pro- 
ceeds to bring the whole age to a close. 

Christ begins with the apostate church ; 8 her fate 
comes at the hands of the nations or powers of the 
earth with whom she has engaged in harlotry. She 
is first cast down from her high position, then stripped 
of her rights and privileges and property, and finally 
destroyed by the killing of her leaders, the ruin of 
her edifices, and the cessation of her worship. The 
historical interpretation shows such a partial treatment 

1 Rev. ix. 21. 2 Rev. xvi. 9, 11, 21. 3 Revelation xvii. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 333 

by the world of the Roman harlot and mother of har- 
lots which is the figure and perhaps the nucleus of the 
coming apostate church. There is nothing left now 
but Antichrist as an object of worship. He sits 
openly in Christ's stead taking the worship of men. 
He is not satisfied by anything short of divine honors. 
Paul has him in view in these words : ' ' The man of 
sin is revealed the son of perdition, he that opposeth 
and exalteth himself against all that is called God or 
that is worshiped ; so that he sitteth in the temple of 
God, setting himself forth as God." 1 Mankind is 
demonized. They have so come under the influence 
of Satan that all are as devils, and worship the head of 
the satanic kingdom, as some are professedly and 
openly doing to-day. This is the final result of the 
promise, " Ye shall be as gods." They are as devils. 
This is the end of irreligion and so-called liberal- 
ism and antichristian science, formalism, and infi- 
delity. This is the result of world-seeking life and 
ambition and turning after whatever promises success, 
making success rather than the will of God first, and 
catering on the part of the church to the world, and 
seeking its aid and coming to its aid in all its schemes, 
instead of coming out from among them and being 
separated. 

There remains the great ecclesiatical and social 
system nurtured and supported by the seductive in- 
fluence of the false spiritual church restraining men, 
and keeping the baser sort in subjection for the en- 
richment of the others, this comes now before God 
for judgment. That christless, godless civilization 
has by this time become world-wide. The ideal of 
the vain dreamers of this age has come to pass. Man- 
kind and civilization are coterminous. Before the 
destruction of the chaff the last remnant of the wheat 
is saved. There are some of God's people on earth, 
for the call is sent out to those in Babylon. " Come 

1 2 Thess. ii. 4. 



334 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellow- 
ship with her sins and that ye receive not of her 
plagues." 1 This is the last call of Christ. He has 
people then even in Babylon at the very end of the 
judgment. These are taken out probably by another 
translation. 

The spiritual influence of the apostate church 
being gone, there is nothing to uphold the great 
system of Antichrist. In an instant, like the falling 
of a great stone into the sea, Babylon is over- 
whelmed. 2 The vast structure of that mightiest of 
civilizations and perfection of social systems, is in 
ruins. By what stroke this comes, whether by in- 
ward convulsion or outward invasion, we cannot now 
know. This will be the most awful stroke which so far 
has fallen on the world. All the past calamities 
which fell on man, produced but curses and blas- 
phemies. But the overthrow of their glorious state 
and means of gain and enjoyment, breaks the world's 
heart. Such mourning the world never witnessed. A 
whole chapter is given to the world's lament. 3 

Following the overthrow of Antichrist and his host 
is given the scripture already quoted, which, how- 
ever, it is again necessary to consider. ' ' And I saw 
thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was 
given unto them ; and I saw the souls of them that 
had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and 
for the word of God, and such as worshiped not the 
beast, neither his image, and received not the mark 
upon their forehead and upon their hand ; and they 
lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The 
rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years 
should be finished. This is the first resurrection. 
Blessed and holy is he that hath a part in the first 
resurrection ; over these the second death hath no 
power ; but they shall be priests of God and of 

1 Rev. xviii. 4. 2 Revelation xviii. 'Revelation xviii. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 335 

Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. " 1 
There are two separate companies spoken of here as 
reigning. Of the first it is simply said, ' ' I saw 
thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was 
given unto them. " This refers to the whole company 
of risen and reigning saints who in all the past time 
prior to the judgment, and during it, were either 
translated or resurrected in the successive resurrec- 
tions or translations already spoken of. They are 
now enthroned and associated with Christ. The 
second company is specifically described as those 
who during the reign of Antichrist were beheaded 
as martyrs for Christ, because of refusing to receive 
the mark of Antichrist upon their heads or hands. 
The souls of these John saw. That is equivalent to 
saying he saw their martyrdom. The same expres- 
sion is used in the beginning of the Apocalypse as to 
the first martyrs. 2 This completes the first resurrec- 
tion, and it is added, "Blessed and holy is he that 
hath part in the first resurrection." 

The common misapprehension is fallen into of 
applying the part concerning this martyr company to 
the whole company of the saints. The reasons for 
rejecting this interpretation are as follows : First, it 
wholly disregards the first clause, and assumes that it 
is merely a prior statement of what follows ; but the 
connecting conjunction shows temporal sequence. It 
is a statement as to one great, general company fol- 
lowed by a more particular statement as to another 
special class. Second, it perverts a careful descrip- 
tion of a specific company, who are designated as 
existing at a particular time, and as having died by a 
particular cause, and in a peculiar manner, and for- 
getting or disregarding this plain description, applies 
this to all the saints who have ever lived at any 
time and died by any cause and in any manner. 

'Rev. xx. 4-6. ■ Rev. vi. 9. 



336 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

Such is not precise and careful exegesis. It is a 
fault of the system of interpretation protested against 
in this chapter, and is disastrous as to obtaining 
accurate results. The interpretation of this im- 
portant passage which applies it to all the saints is 
fatal to the argument for the second or separate 
resurrection of the saints. If these beheaded saints 
are all who are to rise and reign with Christ, then 
the vast number of believers are shut out ; for a 
careful and particular description of a particular class, 
excludes others. The expression, ' ' This is the first 
resurrection," extends to the whole account, and em- 
braces the two classes, the great previous number and 
the last. It is as much as to say, "This completes 
the first resurrection." The general plan of the res- 
urrection of the saints declared by Paul, has been 
noted, "each in his own order," or rank. x It is 
the figure of a marching army. So the saints are 
gathered in. By generations, by companies, by 
classes, rank by rank, coming up from the Judgment 
Age to appear before their Lord, and then to be 
judged and rewarded by him as each is found worthy. 
The last company of risen saints are the martyrs of 
Antichrist, and the death by which they glorify God 
is by beheading. 

This completes that special body called "The 
Church, "" The Bride. " It began in martyrdom. Its 
first members so went to their reward. In this com- 
pany we see the last also going in the same way. 
Every member of this church of Christ is therefore 
enclosed in this blessed parenthesis of holy martyr 
companionship, and although in our day, we have not 
been called upon to suffer martyrdom, we may be in 
the company of those who have so suffered. "If we 
suffer with him, we shall also reign with him, " includes 
any form of trial and hardship for the sake of Christ. 

The event which follows the fall of the false church 
1 I Cor. xv. 22. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 337 

and the completion of the true church and its formal 
union to Christ, is the great ceremony so much re- 
ferred to by himself on earth and even spoken of in 
the Old Testament. It is described as follows : ' ' And 
I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, 
and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of 
mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah : for the Lord 
our God, the Almighty, reigneth. Let us rejoice and 
be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him : 
for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife 
hath made herself ready. And it was given unto her 
that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and 
pure : for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the 
saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are 
they which are bidden to the marriage supper of the 
Lamb." 1 It was the marriage supper of the Lamb, 
Christ referred to when he said at the last supper, 
1 ' But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of 
this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it 
new with you in my Father's kingdom." 2 Every cele- 
bration of the Lord's Supper is a forecast of a greater 
supper. The sacrament looks not only back to the 
last supper, but forward to this coming and greater 
one. This outlook is often forgotten in the memories 
of Calvary. But the apostle reminds us of this aspect 
of it in the words, "We show the Lord's death till 
he come." 

There follows the overthrow of Babylon, the great 
battle of the Day of the Lord. 3 It is the culminating 
of all antichristianity. The contending sides are led 
by Christ and Antichrist in person. There has been 
in all the judgment so far no direct act of Christ upon 
the world. He has acted through angels and natural 
or cosmical agencies. In fact, save the calling of his 
people, and his first appearance, he has been all this 
time, so far as any record shows, unseen by the world, 

'Rev. xix. 6-9. *Matt. xxvi. 29. 8 Rev. xix. 11-21 

M 



338 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

as he is to-day. It is probably this absence of the 
visible Christ and the unbelief to which this gives rise, 
which hardens the hearts of men in the almost incred- 
ible degree we have seen. Satan has not only per- 
suaded mankind to forsake God, but to serve himself, 
and finally, after the overthrow of their last resource, 
to array themselves in mortal conflict against Christ. 
The preparations for the conflict, the " war of the 
great Day of God," have been long making, for we 
read of three emissaries of Satan going forth to pre- 
pare the forces of Satan for the conflict. They are 
thus described in symbolic language: "And I saw 
coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of 
the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the 
false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs : 
for they are spirits of devils, working signs ; which go 
forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather 
them together unto the war of the great Day of God, 
the Almighty. (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed 
is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest 
he walk naked, and they see his shame.) And they 
gathered them together into the place which is called 
in Hebrew Har-Magedon." 1 The number three is the 
number of deity and also of the natures of man. 
There is a reference to both ; an imitation of the 
working of God as we have seen, and also an appeal 
to the threefold nature of man. The three influences 
which Satan will send out will probably appeal to 
man's physical, social, and spiritual natures. They 
will therefore be material, social, and religious forms 
of satanic influence. The figure of the creature 
chosen, calls attention to the low and unclean nature 
of these influences and their effects, and that they 
come in darkness and are unseen in their secret work 
of influencing the world against the religion and 
people of Christ. Some influences now existing may 
show what these which are to come may be. Alcohol, 
socialism, and Spiritualism may be taken as represent- 
^ev. xvi. 14-16. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 339 

ing three forms of satanic influence. Each appeals 
to one of man's natures. Around each of these may 
be grouped a circle of kindred agencies. With alcohol 
may be grouped all the narcotics, drugs, and drinks 
with which the world is now physically intoxicated, 
the demand for which is growing at an appalling rate. 
With socialism must be considered all the forms of 
revolutionary change now proposed, such as commu- 
nism in France, nihilism in Russia, and anarchy in 
America. With the third should be placed all such 
antichristian beliefs as theosophy, Christian Science, 
and all the forms of occultism, hypnotism, etc. 

In this conflict is seen the Son of God, who now 
appears personally and visibly before the assem- 
bled powers of earth who are now arrayed in open, 
as they have been in secret, rebellion against him. 
Christ's eyes flash with the fire of the wrath of God. 
Vengeance is in his hand. His garments are stained 
with blood. It is the blood of Calvary and of his 
saints, which this guilty world has shed. It is the 
blood this apostate world has trampled under foot, 
and counted it an accursed thing. This blood of 
Calvary is now the most awful witness of the guilt of 
man. It has never been repented of by the world. 
Every rejecter of Christ has thereby, as well as by 
his affiliation with the enemies of God, become a guilty 
accessory after the fact. 

The titles applied to Christ in this act of divine 
judgment upon which he now enters are first, "The 
Word of God," and also "KING OF KINGS, AND 
LORD OF LORDS. " The first is that by which he 
is called, the second is written on his thigh. The 
first is his immediate title, and expresses the thought 
that this is Christ in his creative power now fully re- 
sumed. All the time of the present dispensation of 
grace he is called "Christ," and is represented as 
seated on the right hand of God, who tells him, 
"Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine ene- 



340 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

mies the footstool of thy feet." (Acts n : 34, 35.) 
The time for this has come. The mercy title is 
laid aside. He is no longer " Christ " to the world. 
The other title is written on his thigh, the place of 
the sword, the place of strength. It is his coming 
position which he now enters upon. So far Christ 
has been King de-jure, now he becomes King de-facto. 
He has been Lord to his church, now he becomes 
Lord of all. Christ is from henceforth until the con- 
summation, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF 
LORDS. 

The great Battle of the Day of God and its out- 
come is thus described: "And I saw the heaven 
opened ; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat 
thereon, called Faithful and True ; and in righteous- 
ness he doth judge and make war. And his eyes are a 
flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems ; 
and he hath a name written which no one knoweth 
but he himself. And he is arrayed in a garment 
sprinkled with blood : and his name is called The 
Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven 
followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, 
white and pure. And out of his mouth proceedeth a 
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the na- 
tions : and he shall rule them with a rod of iron : and 
he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the 
wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his garment 
and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and 
Lord of Lords. And I saw an angel standing in the 
sun ; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the 
birds that fly in mid-heaven, Come and be gathered 
together unto the great supper of God ; that ye may 
eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and 
the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and 
of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both 
free and bond, and small and great. 

"And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, 
and their armies, gathered together to make war 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 34 1 

against him that sat upon the horse, and against his 
army. And the beast was taken, and with him the 
false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, 
wherewith he deceived them that had received the 
mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his im- 
age : they twain were cast alive into the lake of .fire 
that burneth with brimstone, and the rest were killed 
with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even 
the sword which came forth out of his mouth : and 
all the birds were filled with their flesh. And I saw 
an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key 
of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he 
laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the 
devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 
and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed 
it over him, that he should deceive the nations no 
more, until the thousand years should be finished : 
after this he must be loosed for a little time." 1 

No words can add to this inspired description, nor 
indeed to any of the apocalyptic narratives, therefore 
we transcribe them entire. What all this means we 
can now only know in part. We know the array is 
Antichrist at the head of the united forces of the 
world completely submissive to his will, and probably 
so armed as to make the present armaments of the 
nations appear as the rude weapons of savages. It 
will doubtless be a fearful array of devices of satanic 
invention letting loose powers of destruction of wide 
sweeping scope and awful energy, operating from 
above and from below, from air and earth, and render- 
ing conflict with any earthly foe a scene of cyclonic 
destruction. 

The riders on the white horses are the angels who 
everywhere are described as coming with Christ in 
vengeance to the world. The saints are never 
spoken of as taking part in the judgments until the 
end. Not until victory is won is the church given a 
place of power. The armies of heaven are much 
1 Rcv. xix. 11-21 ; xx. 1-3. 



342 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

spoken of in Scripture. It is their greatness which 
gives Christ one of his grandest titles, ' ' Lord of 
hosts." These vast hosts are now marshaled in dread- 
ful array. Let no one suppose all this is figurative. 
There are such armies. Angels are as real as human 
beings. They have forms and bodies and locality 
and identity, and have means of movement, and exer- 
cise strength, and have occasion for all they possess ; 
for they are not omnipotent. They are now to meet 
one who is equal in strength to themselves. Con- 
tests of the angels with Satan are frequently recorded 
in Scripture. 

We can let our minds dwell upon this scene, but 
only as children. No doubt Christ waits to give one 
last opportunity to the assembled world, as they gaze 
upon him and his mighty hosts, to show repentance, 
or at least some sign of submission. So he waited 
until a week after Noah entered the ark. So also he 
delayed until Pharaoh was in pursuit of the Israelites 
and actually upon them, before he overwhelmed 
them. So also he came and saw Lot threatened and 
his house assaulted before he led him out and 
destroyed Sodom. And again, when Sennacherib 
besieged Jerusalem, God waited until all possible 
opportunity had been given before permitting the 
angel of death to draw and wield his sword against 
him. It is the divine way. So now man is warned 
in every way, and God waits until he is in actual 
array against him, and, no doubt, until he strikes 
the first blow. The first act of Christ is to destroy 
the head of the opposing host. Antichrist and his 
prophet are taken and cast into the lake of fire. 
There is here also mercy displayed in so beginning 
the overthrow of the enemy. If there is any willing- 
ness to repent among the rank and file, it does not 
appear. God is to be justified in this as in all his 
judgments. This first act seems to be performed by 
the angels, as in the final part of the conflict they are 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 343 

used, but not in the great act of judgment. The 
actual overthrow of the antichristian hosts is de- 
scribed by Paul : ' ' You that are afflicted rest with 
us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ from 
heaven with the angels of his power in flaming 
fire, rendering vengeance unto them that know not 
God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our 
Lord Jesus ; who shall suffer punishment, even eter- 
nal destruction from the face of the Lord and 
from the glory of his might, when he shall come 
to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at in 
all them that believed." 1 

Christ alone wars in that battle ; none other is 
needed save to gather up. It is by the sword of his 
mouth Christ smites the hosts of Antichrist. It is as 
the Word of God he acts. One word from him who 
called all things into being is sufficient. Christ speaks 
the awful word, and the wrath of Almighty God leaps 
forth as a sword from its scabbard, and in millions of 
fiery points touches every soul of that human array, 
and as if stricken by the lightning's flash, they sink 
into instant death. The angels do their part. The 
battle is over, but another act follows : During all the 
ages of man's history, Satan himself has suffered no 
personal punishment save deprivation of his once 
glorious place as one of, perhaps, the highest of the 
angelic hosts, and subsequent expulsion from heaven. 
But now he feels the heavy hand of divine power, and 
is cast into the abyss so feared by the demons in the 
time of Christ, and where the apostate angels are who 
kept not their first estate. 

During all this time Christ has not forgotten his 
ancient people. He has followed them in chastise- 
ment, and he will turn to them in blessing. Every 
nation who has oppressed them has suffered for 
it, and every nation who has favored them has 
been the richer. "They shall prosper that love 

l 2 Thcss. i. 7-10. 



344 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

thee " is God's promise to such. There is nothing 
more clearly stated than the predictions of their 
restoration, first to their own land, and second to 
their Jehovah. They are to return as a nation into 
possession of their land. This is in every one of the 
prophets. It is spoken of the Jews and of the re- 
maining ten tribes called Israel. It is in the prophe- 
cies given after the return from Babylon. It is in 
such form as to show it has never taken place. They 
are to return in their present state. They are to be 
favored by the nations in this, and to return with their 
wealth and become autonomous, and to rebuild their 
temple. 

There are intimations running through the record 
that the ancient people of God have a great part in 
the Day of the Lord. These are alluded to under 
three figures. The first is the temple 1 which the 
apostle is commanded to measure, indicating appro- 
priation and preservation. Their religious polity is 
to be preserved during all this time. The ' ' outer 
court," probably the renegades from their ancient 
faith, the so-called "Reformed Israelites," are given 
over to the world. In the second type, the true faith 
is represented by two witnesses 2 who testify against 
the abominable worship of Antichrist into which the 
whole world, except the true ones of Israel, falls. 
Once more Israel is God's witness on earth. The 
third symbol shows Israel again in her spiritual and 
ancient position as regarded by her Jehovah. She 
is represented as a glorious form clothed with the 
sun and having a diadem of twelve stars. 3 It is 
Israel as her Messiah sees her now. The past apos- 
tasies are all forgotten. She is the temple of God, 
the witness of God, the bearer of the Son of God into 
this world. This latter is reviewed, and the story of 
redemption as if it was all for and by Israel. She 
has come back to her appointed place. It is by the 

1 Rev. xi. I, 2. • Rev. xi. 3-13. • Rev. xii. I. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 345 

death of her divine Son, Satan is cast out of heaven, 
and it is because of hatred to her and her seed that 
he rages now on earth. It is for the deliverance of 
herself and her seed that Christ is working now in 
judgment. All is Israel as if she had never fallen. 
Her sins and iniquities are remembered no more. 
Satan will do all in his power to destroy them, 
knowing their place in the heart of Christ and in his 
purpose. He will first try by flatteries to seduce 
them into apostasy from God and into allegiance with 
himself. Failing in this, he will attack them by force. 
Their city will be again imperiled and by a more 
fearful fate than before. As they see their danger, 
they will repent and call upon God for his help. In 
their distress Christ will appear for their relief. In- 
deed this is the immediate occasion of his coming at 
this time and place. They are to be converted as a 
nation by this appearance of their Messiah, whom 
they will recognize and see him to be Jesus. Paul 
gives his own conversion as a type, or rather as a 
part, of that of the whole nation. He speaks of 
being converted, "as one born out of due time;" 
that is, prematurely ; for the natural figure forbids 
the idea of a procrastination. They are to look on 
him whom they have pierced, and to mourn. The 
very substance of their mourning is given in the fifty- 
third of Isaiah, which is not only the prophet's lament 
over their hardness, but their own lament in that day 
over their own unbelief. It will break their hard 
hearts to think they crucified and so long refused 
their own Jehovah. They will receive him and be 
forever his. 

The event upon which Christ enters next is de- 
scribed in the parable of the sheep and the goats. 1 
This is another in the series of judgments which 
chayacterize the Day of the Lord and give it its 

J Matt. xxv. 31-46. 



346 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

general name, the Judgment Day. This must be 
distinguished from the judgment of the saints and 
also from that of the Great White Throne, usually 
called the general judgment. These judged are living 
nations, while in the latter it is "the dead, small and 
great." These are not synonymous terms, for the 
former are living, while the latter are the dead. In 
the former there is no reference to a resurrection. 
The name of the position occupied by Christ is dif- 
ferent. ' ' The Throne of his Glory " and ' ' The Great 
White Throne" will be seen by careful, close study 
to be essentially dissimilar in time and character, as 
describing Christ's offices, as unlike as the Throne of 
Grace from either of them. The latter is for the 
church ; The Throne of Glory for the regenerated 
earth. The Great White Throne for all mankind of 
every age, and probably for all existences of every 
world. The terms of judgment are also dissimilar. 
No books of record are opened, nor any conduct of 
the judged except on one point. Companies of the 
saved are here mentioned ; in the later judgment 
none are spoken of. In this judgment the saved do 
not know they are to be saved. They are judged not 
by such faith as those now coming, but by works and 
a single kind of works. Those coming in our age 
do all for Christ's sake. This company do not know 
they even tried to do anything for him. In this the 
lost are sent to punishment before Satan, but in 
the last judgment they are sent after Satan's con- 
demnation. 

The "nations" referred to here, are those exclu- 
sive of Israel, the Gentiles. It is to these the word 
is applied specifically over a hundred times out of 
the hundred and thirty-two occasions of its occur- 
rence. The fact that the parable occurs in the 
gospel of Matthew and nowhere else, also points to 
a special reference to Israel. By * ' my brethren " 
is included, doubtless, all of the people of Christ, 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 347 

but especially the Israelites, all of whom are the 
subjects first of the seductions, and then the malig- 
nity of Antichrist, and suffer untold hardships in that 
day. It is the treatment, good or evil, of these, 
which wins eternal life or eternal condemnation. 
The rule of procedure or judgment is as follows : 
' ' He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that 
receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that 
receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall 
receive a prophet's reward ; and he that receiveth a 
righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall 
receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever 
shall give to drink unto one of these little ones 
a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, 
verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his 
reward." 1 



The desolating judgments of the Day of the Lord 
will have greatly reduced the population of the earth. 
Out of the judgment of the nations will come a body 
of saved who will enter into the kingdom of Christ to 
be now established. We have seen that Christ began 
each dispensation with a small number. Adam, 
Noah, and Abraham, each respectively represent the 
beginnings of three ages. So now there may be 
comparatively a small body left with which the new 
earth or age begins. This is the tenor of many 
scriptures: "Behold, the Lord maketh the earth 
empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside 
down, and scattereth the inhabitants thereof. . . . 
The inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men 
left." 2 These few saved are the nucleus of the popu- 
lation of earthly inhabitants which form the millennial 
kingdom. 

The millennium is a matter of universal belief. In 
some form at some time, all hope for it. This is the 

'Matt. x. 40-42. 2 Isa. xxiv. 1,6. 



348 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

belief of the Christian church universally. It is the 
belief also of almost the whole of mankind. It lies 
in "The Day of the Lord." It is therefore a state of 
the supernatural, but not wholly so. It is part of the 
Judgment Day. Christ sits in governmental judgment. 
It is a condition when the supernatural is to be seen and 
known, but not necessarily continuously. Its name 
indicates a period of a thousand years. The belief of 
the Jewish church was that there were to be six days 
of toil and sin, followed by a Sabbath of rest and holi- 
ness. All of which seems reasonable, and has this 
scripture : "If Joshua had given them rest, he would 
not have spoken afterward of another day. There 
remaineth therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of 
God." 1 That the period is this, called "another 
day" and " Sabbath rest," there seems no good reason 
to doubt. The following comments by noted .and able 
students of Scripture are given. From Starke : — 

" The one thousand years of the binding of the dragon 
and the reign of Christ and his saints, are properly years. 
There is no reason why we should deviate from a literal inter- 
pretation. If we explain them of the past, we involve our- 
selves in inextricable difficulties. Still less can they be 
referred to eternity, because verses 7 and 8 indicate their 
completion and show what will occur after the thousand 
years are expired. On the contrary, there are weighty rea- 
sons for abiding by a literal interpretation, (1) because it car- 
ries with it nothing absurd or incorrect ; (2) because the 
circumstances demand it, inasmuch as these one thousand 
years are mentioned not merely twice in verses 2 and 5, but 
four times with the. article prefixed (verses 3, 4, 5, 7), years to 
which nothing must be added, and from which nothing must 
be subtracted ; (3) because the literal agrees best with the 
chief work of the divine creation and the course of all 
times." 2 

Alford wrote : — 

"That the Lord will come in person to this our earth; 
that during that blessed reign, the power of evil will be bound, 

1 Heb. iv. 8, 9. 

• Synopsis of the New Testament, quoted in Premillennial Essays, 
Chicago, 1879, P- 4 82 - 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 349 

and the glorious prophecies of peace and truth on earth will 
find their accomplishment, — this is my firm persuasion, and not 
mine alone, but that of multitudes of Christ's waiting people, 
as it was that of his primitive, apostolic church before con- 
troversy blinded the eyes of the Fathers to the light of 
prophecy." 1 

John Wesley said : — 

" In a short time those who assert that they (the thou- 
sand years) are now at hand, will appear to have spoken the 
truth." 

The millennium is to affect the world, Israel, 
and the church. There appears to be, first of all, 
some great change by which the state of nature is 
made more agreeable and safe and healthful for man 
and all living beings and creatures. Paul refers to 
this great change : ' ' For I reckon that the sufferings 
of this present time are not worthy to be compared 
with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward. 
For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for 
the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation 
was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by 
reason of him who subjected it, in hope that the crea- 
tion itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of 
corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children 
of God." 2 He names the time when this is to take 
place as that of "the redemption of our body," that 
is, our resurrection. This, then, comes in the great 
changes and convulsions of the years of judgment. 
The earth is freed from the evils which afflict man 
and beast. The millennium could be no such happy 
time as all expect and as the Scriptures describe, 
while storms, cyclones, malaria, earthquakes, and heat 
and cold, afflict man and make life, as it is for large 
regions, a struggle for existence. 

Calvin wrote upon the above passage : — 

" I expect, with Paul, a reparation of all the evils caused by 
sin, for which he represents the creation as groaning and 
travailing." 

1 Greek Testament, London, 1868, 4 Vols., Vol. 4, p. 233. 
■Rom. viii. 18-21. 



350 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

The existence of man upon the earth at this time will 
be much that Eden was, with the added accumulations 
of the best in invention and every branch of civiliza- 
tion. Mankind will live in families and increase and 
have the enjoyments of social life and cultivate the 
earth and do business and produce wealth and enjoy 
it. They will build cities and study and invent and 
grow in all noble arts and sciences. There are indi- 
cations that the lifetime of man shall be greatly pro- 
longed, perhaps to the full original age of one thousand 
years. So that, if this is the duration of the millen- 
nium, no one need die ^during that time. Death will 
be exceptional, and a special judgment upon sin, as 
the following shows : ' ' There shall be no more thence 
an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled 
his days ; for the child shall die an hundred years old, 
and the sinner an hundred years old shall be ac- 
cursed." ' 

The great feature of the millennium will be the 
spiritual state of man. It is not said that all will be 
regenerated, at least down through the whole period, 
as will be seen, but the whole of mankind will be pro- 
fessedly Christian, and most, really so. All evils such 
as intemperance and oppression will be abolished. 
Christ will probably be present as he was in his resur- 
rection state, and through his saints will govern and 
instruct the world. It will be a church-state such as 
Israel was intended to be. It will be the theocracy, 
with Christ acting more openly and directly than in 
Israel. In view of the history of the latter, a state in 
which the supernatural is seen and operates, ought not 
to be considered so very strange or incredible. Sub- 
stituting the risen saints for angels, will be the 
same kind of operation of divine power. The seventy- 
second psalm is a prophecy of the reign of Christ 
during the millennium. 

In all the prophecies of the millennium, Israel has 
a place. The Messianic kingdom for Israel is the key 

1 Isa. lxv. 20. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 35 1 

to the predictive prophecies of the Old Testament. 
We have no difficulty in applying the hortatory proph- 
ecies, especially the warnings and denunciations, to 
Israel. The predictions of a glorious state were ad- 
dressed to the very same people as the former. The 
Old Testament prophets must be read in this light 
primarily. It must be borne in mind that they are 
Israel's messages first of all. Whatever we as Gen- 
tiles may derive of comfort from them, we must remem- 
ber we are eating off the table of another. Christ so 
guarded this table as to say to one of us Gentiles, 
"It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to 
cast it to the dogs." 1 But we Gentiles have taken 
possession of bread, table, house, and all, and are 
denying the children any special share in it. Da- 
Costa, an Israelite, thus writes : — 

"Who has given us the right, while contemplating the 
literal fulfilment of the judgments on the Hebrews, to alter 
suddenly the principle of interpretation, where the curse is 
changed into a blessing? Who gives us the right, by arbitrary 
exegesis to apply the promises to the Christian church, to the 
Gentiles, when the judgments evidently could not have been 
intended for them. There is then a future for Israel, for the 
long degraded outcasts, an approaching glory. Israel and 
the regenerate nations will triumph together over the Gentiles 
who have forgotten God, and who oppose the kingdom of 
Christ. Israel's King will be King of all the nations." 2 

Then the promises made to Abraham as to the 
land and the increase of his people will be fulfilled. 
Israel will be the chief nation of the world. The land 
of Israel is the geographical center of the earth. 
It will undoubtedly be its spiritual center also. To 
it will come great convocations from all the world, 
and from it will go missions of spiritual influence to 
all the world. The scripture passages which speak 
of this time in Israel's history are very numerous. 
They fill large portions of the prophets. Indeed, 

1 Mark vii. 28. 

2 "Israel and the Gentiles." Quoted in Premillennial Essays, Chi- 
cago, 1879, P- 56°- 



35-2 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

every one of the prophecies closes with bright out- 
looks into this happy time for Israel. Zechariah is 
peculiarly the prophet of this time. A single verse 
gives the characteristic position of Israel: "And it 
shall come to pass that every one that is left of 
all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall 
go up from year to year to worship the King, the 
Lord of Hosts, and to keep the feast of taber- 
nacles." 1 The types for Israel of the millennium are 
the great jubilee, representing their social state, and 
the reign of Solomon, representing their political 
glory ; Solomon's being simply a continuation of the 
reign of David, the kingdom militant being succeeded 
by the kingdom triumphant. 

The state of the saints in the millennium is that 
of Christ after his resurrection. He was a palpable 
personality. He was seen, heard, and handled, and 
exercised all the powers of life, such as walking, build- 
ing a fire, eating, and drinking. There is no reason to 
believe that he is any different now, or that the risen 
saints will be. There has come to us out of pagan- 
ism, the doctrine of the evil of matter, and that pure 
holiness requires a mere etherial state. There is 
nothing of all this in Scripture. Lange thus writes 
of this : — 

"Break this golden band between spirit and matter, be- 
tween the actual fact and the symbol, and you fall back 
into that old accursed opposition between Spiritualism and 
materialism, which burdened the heathen world and will run 
through all your moral, esthetic, and philosophic ideas as a 
fatal cleft." ■ 

There is nothing of the modern ghostly idea in the 
Scriptural representations of the resurrected saints or 
their abode. Not only the earth, but heaven, as will 
be seen, is material, and not a mere state or condi- 
tion. These latter are unthinkable and impossible, 
and are the conceptions of an idealism which is 
wholly unscriptural. The state of the saints during 

1 Zech. xiv. 16. z Commentary, Genesis, p. 74. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 353 

this time is described thus by Christ : "In the resur- 
rection they neither marry nor are given in mar- 
riage, but are as angels in heaven." 1 Everything 
which has been associated with sin or the cause of 
sin will be left out of their lives, but we have no rea- 
son to say any innocent pleasure will be forbidden or 
impossible to the risen saints. If the risen Christ 
could and did eat and drink, it would be difficult to 
show why his people in the same state should not do 
so also. Indeed he said they should, as the following 
scripture states : "I appoint unto you a kingdom, 
even as my Father appointed unto me, that ye may 
eat and drink with me at my table in my kingdom ; 
and ye shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes 
of Israel. " 2 But none of the earthly conditions will 
be necessary to their life or welfare, and if used will 
be only as means of enjoyment. 

That the saints shall reign on the earth is expressly 
stated by the heavenly beings in their song : ' * Worthy 
art thou to take the book, and to open the seals 
thereof : for thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto 
God with thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, 
and people, and nation, and madest them to be unto 
our God a kingdom and priests ; and they reign upon 
the earth." 8 There are numerous other passages 
which the concordance will show. Jamieson, Fausset 
& Brown comment thus: — 

"Christ's coming kingdom is to be manifested at his 
appearing when the saints shall reign with him. His kingdom 
is real now, but not visible. It shall then be visible also. 
Now he rules in the midst of his enemies, expecting till they 
shall be overthrown. Then he shall reign over his adversa- 
ries. Christ will reign with his transfigured saints, over men 
in the flesh. The nations in the millennium will be prepared 
for a higher state, as Adam in paradise, supposing he had lived 
in an unfallcn state. The millennium reign on earth does not 
rest on an isolated passage, but all prophecy goes upon the 
same view." 4 

*Matt. xxii. 30. 2 Luke xxii. 30. 3 Rev. v. 9, 10. 

*Critical Commentary, Chicago, 1885. 

?3 



354 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

From Theurer : — 

"Whether Christ with his church during this kingdom of 
joy shall remain constantly visible, or whether after his visible 
appearance, he shall again become invisible, or sometimes 
one and then the other, as in the time of his resurrection, or 
whether the central seat of his dominion shall be Mount Zion, 
or whether this shall be literally exalted above all mountains, 
or whether the higher Pavilion-Cloud in the air shall, after 
banishment of all wicked spirits, be the place where Christ 
shah celebrate, with his church, the marriage supper of the 
Lamb, or whether the upper Jerusalem and Mount Zion shall 
be united in closest connection for the glorified Church, — 
these are .questions on which the believing investigators of 
Scripture have returned various answers. Heaven will be 
nearer earth though not united. It will be the light evening, 
the still Sabbath of the earth, not yet its Sunday, or yet its 
still greater Easter-morn. The earth remains earth, though 
under a higher power of development, and an altogether new 
blessing from above. The physical life of man advances, but 
under the dominion of the Spirit. Among the nations shall 
stand preeminent, the now scattered, but then gathered peo- 
ple of Israel. For from Zion and Jerusalem, the clear gleam 
of God shall break forth, and from there shall proceed the 
law. At the end of the one thousand years the separation 
between heaven and earth shall be complete. Earth and 
heaven shall have passed through the grave to their eternal 
Easter-morn, and then shall be brought to glorious completion 
what was begun in the incarnation of Jesus." 1 



The millennium is therefore not the final state of 
man on earth. It is not the great and ultimate ob- 
ject of the saints' hope. It is not "the city which 
hath foundations, whose builder and whose maker is 
God." It is not "the kingdom which shall never pass 
away." It is not the full victory over the last enemy, 
for that does not come until death is cast into the 
lake of fire at the close of the final judgment. It is 
not the full restoration of humanity. It is not earth's 
eternal form. The millennium is but a day of a thou- 
sand years in a week of trial with which the story of 
redemption opens, to be succeeded by many weeks of 
1 Quoted in Premillennial Essays, Chicago, 1879, p. 488. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 355 

days as long as these, to roll out into years, and weeks 
of years, and jubilees, and millennial times of a thou- 
sand times such years. It is the unending succession 
of these which constitute the kingdom of God. We 
must guard against two possible errors as to the 
millennium, making too much of it, and, worse yet, 
wholly neglecting it. It has its place and a great one, 
but relatively limited, and, as all admit, temporary. 
It is far from a perfect state. It is one of the trial 
ages, the last indeed, but still an age of sifting. All 
the elements which contribute to moral trial are pres- 
ent except the active agency of Satan. He is not 
present. But human nature remains, and therefore 
sin is possible, indeed is present, for the death of the 
sinner is provided for. Death is still present although 
in greatly reduced scope. The whole age is a brief 
one. If our acceptance of the one thousand years is 
proper as the duration of the millennium, it is not 
more than half of the present gospel age. 

The millennium is a demonstration by God that 
the world by doing the will of God is thereby made 
holy and happy. It is also a trial of man under the 
most favorable circumstances, as to his willingness to 
obey God. It is the belief professed by many that 
the present state of man in sin and misery, comes 
from his environment, and if all this could be changed, 
he would attain to a state of comparative perfection. 
Thus will all be given an opportunity to be tried dur- 
ing this age. With Satan bound and absent with all 
his angels from earth, and natural evils removed, and 
beginning with a selected seed of humanity, there is 
no reason, if this theory is correct, why mankind 
should not reach their ideal. All that the actual pres- 
ence of the supernatural need do to demonstrate and 
instruct, will be given. In the millennium there is to 
be made the fullest demonstration of man's nature 
and ability under every condition for success. When 
it is over, nothing will have been left untried or un- 



356 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

tested. A thousand years will be long enough for the 
trial. 

The millennium is to end in an apostasy. It be- 
gins at ' ' the four corners of the earth, " at the great- 
est distance from the seat of the divine government. 
The causes which explain the falling away, aside from 
the fact of the unregenerate state of many under 
cover of religion, are understood by comparing the 
history of past ages; as for example, the apostasy of 
Israel. It is altogether probable, that, like that age, 
the display of the supernatural gradually diminishes 
and finally ceases. The law and the prophets were 
introduced by such displays under Moses and Elijah, 
but these miraculous manifestations gradually ceased 
in each age as time went on. Israel sinking all the 
time into apostasy after apostasy, from which they 
were temporarily aroused by afflictions and the mes- 
sages of the prophets. These messages also ceased, 
and toward the close, a time of freedom from alarms 
and prophetic appeals came, in which they fell into a 
state of final hardness. This will undoubtedly be the 
case in the age of the millennium. The mighty won- 
ders of the Day of Judgment will become an old story 
and lose their power to alarm. The saints will 
strive to keep the world true to Christ by their efforts, 
governmental and spiritual. 

It is not probable that Christ himself will be per- 
sonally and visibly present all over the world or even 
constantly to any except a limited number, for this is 
not the full development, as has been intimated, of 
the kingdom. It is probable that as he was in his 
life, he will be more and more retired as the time of 
apostasy goes on. This is his spiritual method now. 
He hides his face from the backsliding soul. The 
saints will, perhaps, be left to carry on the work 
largely among themselves, and will faithfully do so. 
Moral suasion not proving equal to the task of hold- 
ing man in check in the downward plunge, govern- 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 357 

mental measures will be tried. There will arise, as 
in this age, resentment at this control. The spirit of 
the world to-day and then, is seen in the words of the 
second psalm. " The kings of the earth set them- 
selves, and the rulers take counsel together, against 
the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, Let us 
break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords 
from us." 1 

Satan now appears. As has been noted, there is 
always a preparation for him. The rebellion is not 
all his work. Under Satan's direction, the inward 
discontent with the rule of Christ assumes a state 
of open rebellion. The world arms once more for 
battle against the hosts of Christ. This time Satan 
leads in person. The previous battle of Har-Magedon 
was led by the Antichrist who appears to be a human 
being animated by Satan, and of surpassing genius. 
But he has been cast into the lake of fire, as the nar- 
rative tells us. 

The close of the millennium is thus described : 
' ' And when the thousand years are finished, Satan 
shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall come forth 
to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of 
the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together 
to the war : the number of whom is as the sand of 
the sea. And they went up over the breadth of the 
earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, 
and the beloved city : and fire came down out of 
heaven and devoured them. And the devil that de- 
ceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brim- 
stone, where are also the beast and the false prophet ; 
and they shall be tormented by day and night forever 
and ever." 2 It seems incredible, that, after such 
terrors and blessings, any should be found ready to 
listen to the voice of Satan, but that such a multi- 
tude, amounting to an almost universal apostasy, 
should fall away from Christ, is the most astounding 
1 Ps. ii. 2, 3. ' Rev. xx. 7-10. 



358 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

fact in the whole great record of sin. We must re- 
member this is the record of every other age. We 
read of Israel apostatizing immediately after receiving 
the great revelation of God from the Mount Sinai, and 
Aaron with them making the golden calf and bowing 
down to it, among them the seventy elders who had re- 
ceived the spirit and had seen the vision of God on 
the mount. 

The saints are besieged in their camp, doubtless, 
around Jerusalem. They have gradually retired before 
the rising tide of the rebellion, doubtless by Christ's 
secret command. They are in fearful peril as well as 
the people of Israel. It is the most terrible of created 
beings who approaches to destroy them, knowing it is 
his last opportunity. He is a spiritual being, other- 
wise he would have no terror for risen beings in 
spiritual bodies. It is not a mere display of hopeless 
resentment on Satan's part. They are committed to 
defense of their charge, — the beloved city. They 
cannot save themselves by flight, that would be vic- 
tory for Satan and destruction for helpless Israel. 
It must not be supposed these great conflicts coming 
at the close of man's history are mere theatrical dis- 
plays. There are none such of any kind in the Scrip- 
ture. It is dreadful reality, as the world will one 
day know. This last conflict between good and evil, 
between Christ and Satan, is the most appalling dis- 
play of evil the universe ever will see. It is Christ, 
as heretofore, attacked in his people. 

The destruction of the forces of Satan is by fire 
from heaven. It seems to be the direct act of 
Almighty God. It is the last overthrow recorded. 
Satan is sent to his final place, the lake of fire, where 
his vicegerent and the false prophet are. Their fate 
is to be " tormented day and night forever and ever." 
He has caused infinite torment to the race of man, 
has ruined God's Eden, and devastated heaven. He 
has dared to lift his hand against God himself in the 



CHRIS1 IN THE DA\ OF THE LORD. 359 

person of his Son, whom he has tempted, persecuted, 
slain, and whose work he has persistently opposed 
and frustrated, and now after all warnings, at the last 
shows no sign of repentance, but again after a thou- 
sand years of foretaste of his fate, comes forth to 
attack the work and people of God. Satan is an 
awful instance and proof of the unchangeableness of 
character. Whether for good or evil, the character 
of any being is established unalterably by his attitude 
toward God. 

Christ now enters upon his last great work of 
judgment. The Scriptural account is the greatest 
and most sublime language and imagery which man 
possesses : ' ' And I saw a great white throne, and him 
that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the 
heaven fled away ; and there was found no place for 
them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, 
standing before the throne ; and books were opened ; 
and another book was opened, which is the book of 
life ; and the dead were judged out of those things 
which were written in the books, according to their 
works. And the sea gave up the dead which were 
in it ; and death and Hades gave up the dead which 
were in them ; and they were judged every man ac- 
cording to their works." 1 This awful scene is pic- 
tured, as is all the history of the Day of God, to fix 
our attention by its sublimity and fearful grandeur. 
It has employed the artist and poet, but no words or 
colors can add to this simple account. It pictures 
the greatest thought which can enter man's mind, — 
accountability to his Maker. 

Daniel gives an almost equal description of the 
last judgment : "I beheld till thrones were placed, 
and one that was ancient of days did sit : his raiment 
was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure 
wool ; his throne was fiery flames and the wheels 
thereof burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came 
forth from before him ; thousand thousands minis- 

x Rev. xx. 11-13. 



360 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

tered unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand 
stood before him ; the judgment was set and the 
books were opened." 1 Here is the great fact added 
that there are other thrones with Christ's. The saints 
are associated with Christ in this judgment : " Know 
ye not that the saints shall judge the world ? . . . 
Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" 2 "He 
that overcometh I will give to him to sit down with 
me in my throne, as I also overcame and sat down 
with my Father in his throne." 3 The scene calls 
for a vast array of thrones surrounding the great 
white throne. The picture presented to the mind is 
this vast array centering around the dazzling center 
and rising tier above tier. The angels are present in 
their countless hosts, to assist in this awful last assize. 
It is probable every living intelligent being in heaven 
and earth is a witness to the doings of the day. 

This is the Day of Judgment proper as distin- 
guished from all which has gone before. It is the 
gathering of all not heretofore raised, and their pres- 
entation before the throne. Only the dead are spoken 
of. It is evident all the sinful race are slain before 
the call to judgment. The great distinction made 
between the saved and others, is that of ' ' the quick 
and dead." It is not said in what form the sinner 
appears before the judgment. The saints are de- 
scribed as robed in white garments. There is intima- 
tion of the sinner's appearing in shame and nakedness. 
Everywhere exposure is a penalty of the judgment. 
Exposure physically would suitably accompany expo- 
sure morally. The lost angels also appear at the 
judgment of the last day: "And angels which kept 
not their own principality, but left their proper habi- 
tation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under dark- 
ness under the judgment of the great day."* 

The Judge is Christ. As we have seen, all judg- 

1 Dan. vii. 9, 10. 8 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. 

3 Rev. iii. 21. 4 Jude6. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 36 1 

merit is committed unto him. He appears in his 
glorified human form. It is he who was born of 
the Virgin Mary, and walked the roads of Galilee, 
and was crucified, and was buried, and rose from the 
dead, and ascended up to heaven. Many will see in 
him the one who was offered to them and pressed 
upon them so persistently, and whom they refused for 
the love of sin, or earthly gain, or pleasure, or ambi- 
tion ; or from fear of man, or shame, or unbelief, or 
hatred, and prejudice toward the people of God. 

The judgment proceeds upon three distinct lines 
of evidence : Faith, Works, and the Book of Life. 
There is first of all shown the evidence of faith or 
want of it. This is and ever will be the only way of 
salvation. All the promises of the gospel are based 
on faith, and, as we have seen, the salvation of all 
from Adam down, has been by faith. The evidence 
as to the faith of the saved is shown by their resurrec- 
tion and their presence with Christ in their glorified 
bodies. Jesus had said : " For this is the will of my 
Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and 
believeth on him, should have eternal life ; and I 
will raise him up at the last day." 1 Undoubtedly he 
meant the previous resurrections of the saints, among 
whom now are all the believers, not one missing. 
Their faith is proven, and they are saved thereby. 
The rest not being so raised are shown not to have 
had faith. The verdict of this evidence is, ' ' He that 
believeth not hath been judged already." 2 

The second evidence is that of works : " The dead 
were judged out of the things which were written in 
the books, according to their works." The only evi- 
dence of faith is works. It is true as James said, 
"We are saved by works;" for if these are missing, 
it shows there is no living faith. So now in the last 
Judgment and in all previous judgments, works are 
the test. The world has always made claim to sal- 

1 John vi. 40 8 John iii. 18. 



362 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

vation by works, and claimed merit on this account. 
So now they are to be tried upon their own grounds. 
The books are opened. The books of memory and 
the law and the conscience will be opened. "As 
many as have sinned without law shall also perish 
without law ; and as many as have sinned under law 
shall be judged by law ; . . . for when the Gentiles 
which have no law, do by nature the things of the law, 
these having no law are a law unto themselves ; in that 
they show the work of the law written in their hearts, 
their conscience bearing witness therewith, and their 
thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing 
them : in the day when God shall judge the secrets of 
men according to my gospel by Jesus Christ." 1 Here 
are three books mentioned — law, conscience, and gos- 
pel. By one of these all will be judged. The result of 
this second stage in the trial is thus described : "The 
fearful, and the unbelieving, and abominable, and mur- 
derers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolators, 
and all liars, their part shall be in the lake which 
burnetii with fire and brimstone : which is the second 
death." 8 

The third great evidence upon which the destinies 
of mankind are decided is " the Book of Life." This 
is previously spoken of in the Scripture. Christ said 
to his disciples, ' ' Rejoice that your names are written 
in heaven." 8 Further, and here is a great mystery, 
there are those whose names were always in this book, 
and some whose names never were there. The scrip- 
tures are as follows: "And all that dwell on the 
earth shall worship him [Antichrist] every one whose 
name hath not been written in the Book of Life of the 
Lamb that hath been slain from the foundation of the 
world. . . . They whose name hath not been writ- 
ten in the book of life from the foundation of the 
world."* We are not at a loss to know the fact 

'Rom. ii. 12-16. "Rev. xxi. 8. 

8 Luke x. 20. * Rev. xiii. 8 ; xvil 8. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 363 

that this was true of such as Judas, and of those of 
whom Jude spake : " These are they who are hidden 
rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, 
shepherds that without fear feed themselves ; clouds 
without water, carried along by winds ; autumn trees 
without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots ; 
wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame ; 
wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness 
hath been reserved forever." 1 Our Lord also spoke 
of some of them, ' ' Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, 
how shall ye escape the judgment of hell ? " 2 The 
Book of Life is a transcript of God's secret will. It is 
absolute righteousness as well as the last verdict 
as to the destiny of every created being. It is a great 
comfort for every child of God that this book will be 
opened. It is an infallible guard against any being 
cast away who belong to God. Whatever the record 
of the life, whatever the smallness of faith, whatever 
the condemnation of conscience or the accusations of 
the world, if the name is in the Book of Life, all is 
well. The result of the third great test is this : "If 
any was not found written in the book of life, he was 
cast into the lake of fire." • 

At the very beginning, upon the appearance of the 
great white throne and Him that sat upon it, it is 
written, "The earth and the heaven fled away and 
there was found no place for them." This is an event 
much spoken of in Scripture. Peter gives the fullest 
account of it : " The heavens that now are, and the 
earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, 
being reserved against the day of judgment and de- 
struction of ungodly men." "The day of the Lord 
will come as a thief ; in the which the heavens shall 
pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall 
be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the 
works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing 
that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what 

'Jude 12, 13. 8 Matt. xxiii. 33. 8 Rev. xx. 15. 



364 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living 
and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the 
coming of the day of God, by reason of which the 
heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the ele- 
ments shall melt with fervent heat." 1 This takes 
place apparently at the very beginning of the judgment, 
for it is from the face of Christ they pass away, and by 
his presence they are dissolved. So that the judg- 
ment is probably in the midst of these awful terrors. 
The belief in such an ending of earth is common 
to man. Gibbon writes : — 

" In the opinion of a general conflagration, the faith of 
the Christians coincided with the traditions of the East. 

The fact that the earth, as Peter says, is "stored 
with fire," is known to all mankind. The suggested 
fate is therefore drawn from this well-known fact. 
Pliny states: — 

" It exceeds all miracles in my opinion that any day should 
pass without setting the world all on fire." 

The world is a vast reservoir of coal, oils, gas, all 
most inflammable, and lying upon, and adjacent to, 
the mass of fire with which the earth is filled. Air 
and water are composed of the most combustible 
gases. It requires, therefore, but a slight change of 
very small proportions in the constituency of either of 
these or to bring any of these into direct contact with 
the mass of fire, or the slightest change in the inclina- 
tion of the earth's axis, or the addition of heat to the 
sun by the precipitation of some wandering star into 
its fires, to produce the conflagration of air and sea 
and earth and all they contain. This may constitute 
"the lake of fire." It is thus described: "Which 
burneth with fire and brimstone." 2 It is also written 
that it is the place in which was cast the beast and 
the false prophet and Satan. It is called the "sec- 

1 2 Peter iii. 7, 10-12. 8 Rev. xxi. 8. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 365 

ond death." Every terrible thought is associated 
with death. The pain and parting and loss and the 
dark hereafter for the sinner, all are aggravated many 
fold in the "second death." As we do not know 
what death is until we enter it, so none can estimate 
what this is until then. We may be assured it is no 
mere figure of speech. There is a dreadful reality in 
all this awful description. 

The fate of the lost is the most awful, as it is the 
most difficult problem of religion. But for this, 
there would be but little question as to the whole 
subject of religion. The whole controversy revolves 
around this sometimes invisible center. There are 
many open and secret protests against this doctrine. 
It is the voice of Christ which pronounces doom upon 
the lost, and therefore, his work and character are 
in question. We have seen his work in retributive 
justice upon the old world, upon Pharaoh, and 
Sodom, and the Canaanites, and during the Day of 
the Lord. But all this was punishment which was 
temporary. This sentence of the Great White 
Throne remands to a fate from which there is no 
promise of deliverance. This is the testimony of 
the church in all ages as to the meaning of the 
scriptures on this subject. Christ himself taught dis- 
tinctly this doctrine. He said, "Fear him who is 
able to destroy both soul and body in hell [margin, 
Gehenna]." 1 It is to be remembered that this is 
the teaching of the Scripture, and that these Scrip- 
tures of the Christian church have not only the 
brightest outlook into the future, of any human con- 
ceptions, but the only such outlook. It is to the 
Bible all poets and painters turn for bright pictures 
of hereafter. 

The nature and conduct of man must be con- 
sidered in this question. We have seen the dealings 
of Christ with those to whom the truth was given. 
1 Matt. x. 28. 



366 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

They heard the gospel and refused it, and remained 
impenitent under every call of the gospel, and loved 
darkness rather than light. The world crucified 
Christ, and persecuted the people of God. As the 
story of the Day of the Lord shows, they will refuse 
Christ even under. the wonders of that day, and will 
turn to Satan, and will lift arms against the very 
person of Christ himself, and attempt to destroy the 
very Creator of them all, and turn the rule of earth 
over to Satan. All this shows a depth of wickedness 
under all circumstances, which is amazing. We ask 
who and what kind of beings these are. There is not 
in Scripture that indiscriminate sentimental designa- 
tion of sinners we hear so commonly to-day. They 
are called by such names as "chaff" and "tares" as 
distinguished from the pure grain. They are called 
"goats" and "wolves" and "dogs" as distinguished 
from the sheep of the flock. Peter calls them "mere 
animals to be taken and destroyed." 1 Paul styles 
them "vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction." 2 
Christ called them "offspring of vipers," and one of 
them, Judas Iscariot, he said was a devil. To some 
he said, " Ye are of your father the devil." 8 

All this intimates some radical reason why they 
are not saved, and explains why they so persistently 
refused the grace of God. We may be sure there is 
some reason which God has not fully revealed, why 
any created being should meet with such a fate. 
There are analogies in nature and in human life 
which are of the same kind. The existence of one 
extreme implies the opposite. Where there is a top 
there is a bottom . There are cast blossoms which 
perish. There are stalks which never reach the 
garner. There are dregs in every cup. There is 
debris from every structure. There is the refuse of 
the mine from which the precious metal and jewels 
are taken. Society has its outcasts, its criminals, 

1 2 Peter ii. 12. 2 Rom. ix. 22. 'John viii. 44. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 367 

and its finally incorrigible. It also has its penalties 
and even unending punishments, so far as life is con- 
cerned. The imprisonment for life, sometimes in 
solitary confinement or hard labor, is of the same 
kind in human scale as the eternal punishment of the 
Bible. History is full of judgment crises. Nations 
and races have perished forever. As we come to scan 
the extent of the ultimate work of Christ, we will see 
that the number of the lost bears but a small propor- 
tion to the vast numbers saved. It will appear as 
small as the number of free and right-living citizens 
is to those imprisoned for their crimes. The propor- 
tion will be less and less as the ages go by. 

It is a ground of faith and comfort to know all is 
in the power of Christ. We must trust Christ here, 
for it is all his work. He is the same yesterday, 
to-day, and forever, and we know what he was "yes- 
terday " in his earthly life. So he will be in the Day 
of Judgment. His aspect will change, but he changes 
not. So we may feel sure he will do not only right 
and justice, but will leave no work of mercy untried 
to save rebellious man ; as in Jerusalem, when he could 
do no more, he wept over the doomed city, so he will 
feel sorrow as no mortal can over the loss of every 
created being. Some profess to find a hopeful outlook 
to this darkest view possible to man. If there should 
be such, none will rejoice more than those who, believ- 
ing this dark doctrine, have striven to call the world 
to Christ. If Christ in the ages of eternity should 
find a way to save every created being, it is his own 
secret. He has revealed no such doctrine to us. We 
can only declare what he has said. From our present 
light there appears no hope for those who die im- 
penitent. Lange writes on this as follows : — 

" So far as it is admissible to speak of an intermediate state 
between the last judgment and the ideal goal of all things, such 
a state manifestly appears to be for the wicked a series of aeons 
to which the eye can discover no limit. Whither the river of 



368 CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 

paradise goes as it flows out of the city of God, is not de- 
clared. The mediaeval conception of the endless torment of all 
who died out of the church, infringes on the liberty of God; 
the systems of the absolute restoration of all men infringe on 
the liberty of man ; both occupy too positive a position in re- 
gard to the hidden secrets of the aeons, behind which the 
mountains of absolute eternity stand radiant with the glory of 
God." 

We may dismiss the whole subject with the words 
of Abraham in view of the destruction of Sodom : 
' ' Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? " 



The work of Christ in the Day of the Lord ends 
with the judgment, and also the history of what we 
call "time." There has been seen Christ working 
through it all, conducting the great plan of God from 
beginning to conclusion. The great demonstration 
ends here. It will have been shown by every possible 
test that under all circumstances, in every emergency 
or condition, the will of God is the only rule of life 
for created beings. All other means of making them 
happy or holy will have been tried and proved want- 
ing. The great problem of all the ages will have been 
solved once for all. Under license as at the first, un- 
der law as with the prepared people of Israel, under 
the gospel, and later still in the millennium with the 
demonstrated presence of the supernatural, man has 
failed, save as he obeyed the will of God. Any other 
race would have failed also. Man is but a represent- 
ative of created beings, any of whom would act in the 
same way. 

Christ came and gave the universe a perfect ex- 
ample of perfect submission to the will of God, and 
his people, so far as they followed in his steps, gave 
the same example. The benefits of obedience were 
shown in the individual, in the community, and in the 
whole world. The awful effects of disobedience to 
the will of God, called sin, were also fully shown. 



CHRIST IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. 369 

The record will be made up and kept for the study 
of the ages to come. It will be, as was intimated, 
the Bible of the future. The worlds to come will 
read the story of sin and grace. They will therefrom 
learn, and fear to sin, and cleave to God. The whole 
history is a short one. What are seven thousand 
years or even thousands more, to the endless aeons of 
eternity ? It will be seen that the results well pay for 
all involved. It is but the preparation for the king- 
dom of God which now begins. 



CHAPTER VII. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

The eternal future begins where time ends. 
From the Great White Throne issue the ages of eter- 
nity. These are often spoken of in Scripture. Paul 
writes of them and gives the grand outline in these 
words , ' ' Unto him be the glory in the church and 
in Christ Jesus unto all generations forever and 
ever" [margin, "unto all the generations of the age 
of the ages]." 1 The word rendered "worlds " is often 
more properly "ages." "Through whom also he made 
the worlds " may be rendered • ' through whom also 
he framed the ages." These ages were framed by 
Christ. In the eternal past he arranged the whole 
eternal future. Christ was the Great Architect of 
the ages as well as the manifestation of the person 
and nature of God, and his great executive. 

It is difficult to separate the prophecies which ap- 
ply to the eternal state from those which refer to the 
millennium only. The two form one picture in the 
minds of the prophets looking down the long per- 
spective of the distance. The prophecies of the mil- 
lennium may be taken as were those referring to 
historical events, as having a typical meaning or a 
second fulfilment in the greater age. Dr. Craven 
writes on this subject : — 

"Although the New Jerusalem state is not to be con- 
founded with the millennial kingdom, nor to be regarded as a 
simple continuance thereof, it is to be looked upon as the anti- 
type of that kingdom. In a sense it is that kingdom raised to 
^pb. iii. 21. 
[370] 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 37 1 

a higher plane — completely freed in its territory, and its sub- 
jects from all remains of the curse. The millennial kingdom 
is the reign of the saints over a race and earth freed indeed 
from the assaults of Satan, but still in measure in sin and 
under the curse. The New Jerusalem period is that of the 
reign of the saints over a race and earth perfectly purified." 1 

As another writer observes, in the millennium, 
righteousness reigns, in the eternal state it dwells 
with man. 

Some general principles may be considered by 
which the special application of scriptures to the two 
states may be discerned. The predictions which 
speak of the presence of sin or death refer to the mil- 
lennium only, for these are absent from the eternal 
state. So also all which intimate the existence of 
the sea, for this too is absent. Also all which speak 
of any termination are to be applied to the short 
time of the millennium. It is probable also that all 
predictions which here present geographical or ethno- 
graphical names or boundaries refer to the millennium 
only. The last two chapters of the Apocalypse apply 
to the eternal state, following as they do without inti- 
mation of chronological break, the accounts of the 
general judgment and the destruction of the world, 
and leading up to the perfect state, as far as revealed 
to man. So therefore all other predictions must be 
judged, as to their place, by this great outline. The 
presence of the heavenly city and the visible presence 
of God the Father are the great marks of the eternal 
state. The central point in the eternal future is the 
throne of God and the Lamb. Around this appears 
the New Jerusalem, and in a wider circle the new 
earth. This in turn is encircled by the new heavens. 
This then will be our course of study, beginning at 
the center with Christ, with whom by previous study 
and acquaintance we are familiar, and considering 
the successive circles by which he is surrounded. 

1 Laage's Commentary, Revelation, New York, p. 392. 



372 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

We ask what Christ is or has in himself for all his 
work and suffering and accomplishment. That he did 
look forward to something for himself seems clear. 
' ' Who for the joy that was set before him endured 
the cross, despising the shame, and hath sat down on 
the right hand of the throne of God." 1 What was 
the joy set before him ? We can see that there was, 
as at the ascension, the joy of accomplished endeavor. 
Redemption is fully accomplished. He has brought 
about a state of existence which can continue as long 
as eternity, without failing in any point by reason of 
weakness and sin. He has made possible the exten- 
sion of the holy, happy state universally. But for 
himself Christ has gains also. He has a threefold 
human nature, — body, soul, and spirit. This human 
nature has been trained and schooled in the vicissitudes 
and sufferings of human life. He in it " learned obe- 
dience by the things which he suffered." He was 
made perfect through suffering. He has all that a 
thoroughly schooled human being could have. All 
that experience is to us, it is to Christ. All that char- 
acter is to us, it is to him, — all this in his human 
nature which he has and will have forever. Christ 
has the possibility of a kind of fellowship with created 
beings, especially the church, with this human nature, 
so schooled, which he could not otherwise have. It 
is the fellowship of equals of which he spake : "No 
longer do I call you servants ; for the servant knoweth 
not what his lord doeth ; but I have called you friends : 
for all things that I heard of my Father I have made 
known unto you." 2 This indicates the kind of fellow- 
ship and the subjects of it. It will be the intercourse 
of equals as to the great designs of the eternal ages to 
come. All this Christ did not have before the world 
was. 

There is the conferring of a name upon Christ 
often and mysteriously spoken of. It was con- 

1 Heb. xii. 2. "Johnxv. 15. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 373 

ferred upon him at his ascension : ' ' Wherefore 
also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him 
the name which is above every name ; that in the 
name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in 
heaven and things on earth and things under the 
earth." 1 This is not any of the names we now know, 
for it is spoken of by himself as, ' ' My new name ; " 
and again, • ' He hath a name written, that no man 
knoweth but he himself." 8 It is that name which he 
promises to write upon him that overcometh, and no 
doubt, which they bear who have the Father's name 
written upon their foreheads. This name will sum up 
in itself all we have known of Christ, and will declare 
to us in a word a revelation of Christ now utterly be- 
yond us. The new name of Christ will no doubt em- 
body all the many titles and offices Christ has worn. 
It will have not only a public and general meaning, 
but also a special significance to each one who knows 
it. This is indicated by his promise to write it upon the 
one who overcomes. It will probably express to each 
his own special view of Christ or the secret relation- 
ship which he holds individually to him. It will, like 
the many-faced jewel, reflect Christ's grace and glory 
in many forms, and to each believer his own needed or 
prized view of Christ. It is the name by which he is 
now known in heaven and which exalts him above 
ever}' creature and draws praise from every beholder. 
Next to seeing his face will be the joy of hearing for 
the first time the great name which is above every 
name, by which he whom we have called Christ will 
be known forever. 

There are frequent references to an orderly ar- 
rangement of the kingdom of God. That "order is 
heaven's first law " needs no asserting. It is true of 
nature, and the church also so far as it has conformed 
to the divine commands. It is probable the different 

1 Phil. ii. 9, 10. z Rev. xix. 12. 



374 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

figures for the church describe different parts of the 
great company. Some passages describe a com- 
plexity of organization, as the following: "Being 
built upon the foundation of the apostles and proph- 
ets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone ; 
in whom each several building, fitly framed together, 
groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord : in whom ye 
also are builded together for a habitation of God in 
the spirit." 1 In this scripture quoted, there is pre- 
sented a picture of many buildings, each representing 
a separate company, and all so adjusted to each other 
and to the central place of the throne as to form one 
temple for the habitation of God. The figure of the 
temple explains this orderly and yet varying arrange- 
ment of the city of God. The temple had its enclos- 
ing wall, its court, its inner court, its temple proper, and 
inside, the holy place, and the inmost, holiest of all. 
We can discern some of these several buildings. The 
great company of the antediluvians who were saved, 
are not of the spiritual descendants of Abraham, ' ' the 
father of all them that believe" to whom the gospel 
was first preached, as Paul tells us, yet they have a 
place in the house of God. So Israel is not the 
Christian church by whom indeed for a time they 
were supplanted. But Israel has a place, and a spe- 
cial place too. They are seen in their tribes, and 
are recognized as such. We have already considered 
the term and figure of the bride as applied to the peo- 
ple of God. Israel was so called, and is in the eter- 
nal future united with the New Testament church in 
this figure. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel 
are on the gates, while the names of the twelve 
apostles are on the foundations of the walls.- The 
scripture in like manner says, " Ye are fellow-citizens 
with the saints and of the household of God, being 
built upon the foundation of the apostles and proph- 
ets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. " ' 

1 Eph. ii. 20-22. * Eph. ii. 20. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 375 

There are also those of every land and family of 
men who in all the ages have known and obeyed the 
truth. Many of these are the results of the world- 
wide work of Jehovah during the Old Testament age 
in many nations, as we noted in the review of the 
work of Christ then. The thousands of Nineveh who 
repented at the preaching of Jonah, and doubtless 
others from many cities and lands in like manner 
saved. So also the Queen of Sheba, and doubtless 
many of her subjects whom Jesus said would stand up 
in the judgment having repented in life. So also 
Nebuchadnezzar, who issued his royal proclamation 
confessing Christ, as he knew him, after God's afflict- 
ive dealings, and no doubt many of the subjects of this 
ruler over the whole earth. 

The Christian church of this age has undoubtedly 
a superiority over all who have gone before and all 
who will come after. Christ teaches a distinction 
between the believer of the Old Testament church 
and those of the New : ' ' Among them that are born 
of women there hath not arisen a greater than John 
the Baptist : yet he that is but little in the kingdom 
of heaven, is greater than he." 1 There is undoubt- 
edly far more in believing on Christ now, when we 
have no supernatural events or a visible Saviour, than 
in the coming day when the supernatural is every- 
where present. Christ taught this principle in show- 
ing Thomas his hands and his side ; he said, " Because 
thou hast seen me, thou hast believed : blessed are 
they that have not seen and yet have believed. " 2 We 
know that many will be saved after the coming of the 
Day of the Lord, as was noted. They will lose some- 
thing which others will gain. This is indeed part of 
the reward, and a great part, for being ready for the 
coming of that day, and it is so held out in Scripture. 
That some lose their part in it does not however show 
that they are lost. 

1 Matt. xi. II. *John xx. 29. 



376 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

So also a difference is intimated to exist among those 
being saved in the gospel age and commonly called The 
Church. There are special terms applied to some, 
such as, " The Bride, " " The first-fruits, " "The Church 
of the First Born." We must not apply these indis- 
criminately to the saved. Scripture does not use 
terms in that loose manner. Every difference is sig- 
nificant of special meaning. There is a vast differ- 
ence between being "saved as by fire," and having 
"richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eter- 
nal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 
Coming into the number of ' ' The Church of the First- 
Born " is far more than escaping hell. The Bride of 
Christ is far more than a servant or a subject. There 
are undoubtedly differences in the constituency of 
these respective bodies. 

There will be also some chosen companies. One 
is thus described : ' ' These are they which were not 
defiled with women : for they are virgins. These are 
they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. 
These were purchased from among men, to be the 
first-fruits unto God and unto the Lamb. And in 
their mouth was found no lie ; they are without blem- 
ish." 1 The account tells us they act as a constant 
escort to the Son of God. We noticed in the life of 
Jesus that some were constantly with him. 

Christ and his people enter the eternal future to- 
gether, a completed body. The last sheaves were 
gathered before the last judgment, and now not one 
is missing, as is found by the opening of the Book of 
Life. The act which will give Christ as well as his 
people joy, is described in these words: "That he 
might present the church to himself a glorious church, 
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing ; but 
that it should be holy and without blemish." 2 For 
Christ himself this is the time of reward. His prayer 
on earth was, ' ' I will that where I am they also may 

1 Rev. xiv. 4, 5. 8 Eph. v. 27. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 377 

be with me ; that they may behold my glory which 
thou has given me." 1 But there is a higher pleasure 
for them and him. It is written that no man hath 
seen God at any time. Human eye cannot gaze 
upon him. But in the glorified state this is possible. 
' ' The pure in heart shall see God. " It is written, 
"They shall see his face." The time for this is when 
all are gathered, and sin is no more. This is de- 
scribed as a definite act and time and experience. 
The presentation of the completed church before the 
presence of God the Father is thus described: "To 
present you holy and without blemish and unreprov- 
able before him ; " "To set you before the presence 
of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy." 8 

The object of the Christian's contemplation during 
the present age is Christ. In the millennium Christ 
will be visible to all. But in the eternal ages, the 
object of the Christian's contemplation and vision 
will be God the Father, the Eternal and Infinite. 
It is the summit of bliss for the people of God. 
We will be able as Christ does, not only to see, but, 
as we advance in the learning of that higher state 
of life, to be able to enter into the thoughts of God 
and his purposes, and enjoy the same kind of fellow- 
ship as with Christ himself. The mind of God will 
exist in all his people as it does in Christ. God will 
be in them as he is in Christ. 

For the church there will be growth and advance in 
all which makes glory and character. The ideal of 
the Christian is ' ' the measure of the stature of the 
fulness of Christ. " It is further and perhaps more 
highly expressed in these words : "Filled unto all the 
fulness of God." 3 We can scarcely say all this is at- 
tained by any in its greatest sense, in this life, but it 
will be by all in the life to come. The believer is to 
become like Christ. He is to be "conformed to the 
image of his Son, that he might be the first-born 

1 John xvii. 24. ■ Col. i. 22 ; Jude 24. »Eph. iii. 19; iv. 13. 



378 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

among many brethren." 1 This will be such an exal- 
tation of the believer as will make him as like Christ 
as the younger son is to the older. ' ' We shall be 
like him, for we shall see him even as he is." 2 The 
process begun upon earth will go on in increasing 
power. ' ' We all with unveiled face reflecting as a 
mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into 
the same image from glory to glory, even as from the 
Lord the Spirit." 8 

All this the apostle has in mind when he prays, 
' ' That ye may know what is the hope of his calling, 
what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the 
saints, and what the exceeding greatness of his power 
to us-ward who believe."* The promise as to these 
ages is, ' • That in the ages to come he might show the 
exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in 
Christ Jesus." 5 

The Scriptural accounts of the future of God's 
people are all associated with material places and condi- 
tions. There is no such idea in Scripture as the ghostly 
condition and unsubstantial state now commonly held 
as to heaven, and which contemplates a mere condition 
or state apart from place or locality, or makes little 
of locality. This comes as has been said, from the 
leaven of doctrine absorbed from heathenism, that 
evil exists in matter, or that matter is in antagonism 
to spirituality and holiness, and that the right idea of 
heaven demands pure etherealism. It also comes 
partly from the effusions of poets not Scripturally in- 
formed, and partly from exaggerated importance 
being given to the middle state, the great realities of 
the resurrection and the resurrection state being cor- 
respondingly neglected. All this has filled the minds 
of people with views of heaven which are not only 
unscriptural but also damaging to the faith of believ- 
ers. A heaven is presented which few dare to conceive 

1 Rom. viii. 29. 2 1 John iii. 2. 3 2 Cor. iii. 18. 

4 Eph. i. 18, 19. 5 Eph. ii. 7. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 379 

of or even to acknowledge a location for. It is filled 
with ghostly beings whom we are assured we will be- 
come like, and so in some more or less imaginary 
state, live on and on without any definite place or 
purpose or outcome. Such a heaven has no attract- 
ive power. It is not the heaven of the Bible. 

Among the last promises of Christ was this: "In 
my Father's house are many mansions ; if it were not 
so I would have told you ; for I go to prepare a place 
for you. And if I go I will come again and receive 
you to myself ; that where I am there ye may be 
also." 1 Here is as definite proof as could be given. 
First the naming of a place and the assertion that it 
is where Christ himself is. Dr. Craven writes upon 
this as follows : — 

" A material dwelling place is as necessary for resurrected 
saints as was Eden for Adam, or Canaan for Israel. It should 
occasion no surprise, for the same loving care that will raise 
and glorify the body should prepare a fitting and glorious 
abode for it.' 

The place of the abode of God's people is called 
the New Jerusalem. We are taught that it is a 
definite place having locality, name, and description. 
This is the place Jesus went to prepare. It forms the 
subject of the closing chapters of the Apocalypse. 

"And he carried me away in the Spirit to a 
mountain great and high, and shewed me the holy 
city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 
having the glory of God : her light was like unto a 
stone most precious, as it were a jasper stone, clear 
as crystal : having a wall great and high ; having 
twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels ; and 
names written thereon, which are the names of the 
twelve tribes of the children of Israel : on the east 
were three gates ; and on the north three gates ; and 

'John xiv. 2, 3. 

■Lange's Commentary, Revelation, New York, p. 391. 



380 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

on the south three gates ; and on the west three gates. 
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and 
on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the 
Lamb. And he that spake with me had for a meas- 
ure a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates 
thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth four- 
square, and the length thereof is as great as the 
breadth : and he measured the city with the reed, 
twelve thousand furlongs : the length and the breadth 
and the height thereof are equal. And he measured 
the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, 
according to the measure of a man, that is, of an 
angel. And the building of the wall thereof was 
jasper : and the city was pure gold, like unto pure 
glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were 
adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first 
foundation was jasper ; the second, sapphire ; the 
third, chalcedony ; the fourth, emerald ; the fifth, 
sardonyx ; the sixth, sardius ; the seventh, chrysolite ; 
the eighth, beryl ; the ninth, topaz ; the tenth, chryso- 
prase ; the eleventh, jacinth ; the twelfth, amethyst. 
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls ; each one of 
the several gates was of one pearl : and the street of 
the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 
And I saw no temple therein : for the Lord God the 
Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof. 
And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the 
moon, to shine upon it : for the glory of God did 
lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb. And 
the nations shall walk amidst the light thereof : and 
the kings of the earth do bring their glory into it. 
And the gates thereof shall in no wise be shut by day 
(for there shall be no night there) : and they shall 
bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it : 
and there shall in no wise enter into it anything un- 
clean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie ; 
but only they which are written in the Lamb's book 
of life. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 38 1 

"And he shewed me a river of water of life, 
bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God 
and of the Lamb, in the midst of the street thereof. 
And on this side of the river and on that was the tree 
of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its 
fruit every month : and the leaves of the tree were for 
the healing of the nations. And there shall be no 
curse any more : and the throne of God and of the 
Lamb shall be therein : and his servants shall do him 
service ; and they shall see his face ; and his name 
shall be on their foreheads. And there shall be night 
no more : and they need no light of lamp, neither 
light of sun ; for the Lord God shall give them light : 
and they shall reign for ever and ever." 1 

The figure of the city is that of a square. This 
corresponds to the Scriptural figure for universality 
as applied to the earth and man. The other dimen- 
sion, height, suggests its heavenly aspect. We must 
not suppose that it is a cube. The three dimensions 
apply as well to the figure of the mountain or pyra- 
mid which is the perfected form of the mountain. 
Old Jerusalem was called Mount Zion and was built 
upon a mountain. The dimensions given, are no 
doubt, all surface measurements. The height is prob- 
ably not the vertical height but the slope of the 
mountain. The area given is more than a million 
times that of ancient Jerusalem, and if populated as 
the least crowded residence parts of any modern city, 
would give homes to a hundred times the present 
population of earth. In this vision of the home 
of the church are gathered all the beauties of nature, 
human life, and heaven. Specimens of each are 
named. From nature, precious stones, pearls, gold, 
rivers, and trees ; from human life a single figure, the 
bride ; from heaven, angels and light. But each of 
these are but specimens of the whole vast glorious ag- 
gregation of all that is beautiful in each of the spheres 
of nature, man, and heaven. 

'Rev. xxi. 10-27, X3 "'» I- 5- 



382 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

This then is the city John sees. It is a shining 
mountain. Around the base a wall of diamond. 
Three portals opening on each side. The gates of 
solid pearl. From each gate an avenue of gold as- 
cends to the summit. Down the sides of each street 
pours a stream of the River of Life watering the trees 
which line each golden avenue. The figure suggests 
the sides of the mountain terraced to the summit, and 
upon these terraces the mansions of the saints. The 
throne of God crowns the whole. From the throne 
flows light eternal which radiates through every part 
of the transparent city. The dimensions and the 
description suggest the city combined with all of rural 
beauty and enjoyments. When John sees the vision 
of the New Jerusalem, the saints are in possession of 
their eternal home. The whole is called, "The 
Bride, the Lamb's wife." It is the vision of the saints 
in this glorious city which fills the apostle with rap- 
ture. He beholds the completed work of Christ for 
his church. We may be sure Christ himself is with 
them ; indeed the record so says. To bring his 
church to their eternal resting place was the work 
of Christ in person even as the bridegroom brings the 
loved one to his home. This probably takes place 
soon after the completion of the church. 

The view which John saw of the New Jerusalem 
presented it descending from God out of heaven. 
The whole context indicates that it was descending 
to earth where the apostle was. The mention of 
earth afterward with the city established, shows this 
to be the right view of the location of this glorious 
city. It is heaven coming to earth. This, we must 
bear in mind, was the course of the preceding ages. 
The Scripture narrative shows first a rupture of the 
relationship between God and man. Then follows 
a long age ending at the flood, when there seems to 
have been little communication between heaven and 
earth. In the age following, God comes to many, 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 383 

and all Israel see the glory of God. Angels come 
and go and are seen and heard. In the gospel age 
God in his Son appears, and many more, a world- 
wide body, know personally of the reality of heaven. 
In the millennium there is a greater disclosure still, 
as we have seen. The supernatural becomes well- 
known phenomena. The angels and risen saints and 
the glorified Christ himself appears. But in the eter- 
nal state, ' ' Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, 
and he shall dwell with them." The peculiarity of 
the New Jerusalem will be "no temple therein, for the 
Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple 
thereof." Dr. Craven writes upon this : — 

*' In the old Jerusalem the temple was at once the dwell- 
ing place and the concealer of Jehovah. Though present, he 
was not visibly present — in presence he was sheltered by the 
temple. The New Jerusalem shall have no place for the 
sheltering of the Lord ; for she shall be sheltered by him. 
He shall tabernacle over her. Her inhabitants shall dwell 
under his manifest and sheltering light. He shall be her 
temple." l 

The inspired account of the place of the New 
Jerusalem is as follows : " I saw a new heaven and a new 
earth, for the first heaven and the first earth are 
passed away, and the sea is no more." 2 This we be- 
lieve refers to the present earth. We have every 
reason to believe that this planet is meant, and that 
the re-creation of it is the work of Christ. We are 
led to this conclusion from considering the types of 
the great conflagration. The flood was such. The 
effect of this was the destruction not of the planet, 
but only the human works and beings upon its sur- 
face. So in the fiery flood of which the former was a 
type, we need not see more than the destruction of 
the surface and the works of man upon it. Further, 
the words, " The sea was no more," imply the same 

1 Lange's Commentary, Revelation, New York, 1874, p. 387. 

2 Rev. xxi. 1. 



384 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

earth where the sea was, otherwise the statement 
would have no relevancy. Still further, the state- 
ment, " The tabernacle of God is with men," implies 
God coming to men rather than their removal to some 
other place. The restoration or regeneration of the 
earth is in full accord with the analogy of all which 
has gone before, in the creative, spiritual, and resur- 
rective work of Christ. 

To merely adandon the earth as a fiery mass to 
burn itself out, would scarcely be in line with the pre- 
dictions of complete victory. It leaves the battlefield 
in possession of the enemy, as Dr. George Junkin 
says : — 

" Whereas on the supposition of its purification, and of 
redeemed men, and his glorious Redeemer returning and abid- 
ing upon it, in a state of felicity superior to that which Satan 
at first disturbed, the triumph of God, the Saviour, over the 
powers of hell has here an everlasting monument." 1 

Dr. Charles Hodge writes thus : — 

"The destruction here foretold is not annihilation. The 
world is to be burnt up, but combustion is not a destruction 
of substance. It is merely a change of condition or state. 
. . . The earth, according to the common opinion, that is, 
this renovated earth, is to be the final seat of Christ's king- 
dom." 8 

There are many scriptures which teach this. 
Abraham is to have the land of promise " for an ever- 
lasting possession." Zion is to be "an eternal ex- 
cellency." The earth is "to be inhabited forever." 

The work of Christ in this preparation of the earth 
for its eternal use, we call the new creation. He 
himself speaks of it in these words : " Behold I make 
all things new." This is far more than " the restora- 
tion of all things." That means the return to the 
Edenic condition which took place in the millennium. 
But a repaired world is far from the idea of this greater 

1,1 Lectures on Prophecy, " p. 312. 

"Systematic Theology, New York, 1873, Vol. 3, p. 854. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 385 

state and work. It is a regeneration, being born 
again. The earth must pass through the same proc- 
ess as ourselves, and become a new creation. The 
earth would be left by its fiery baptism very much in 
its original state. Indeed Jeremiah in his view of the 
earth given him in this time, describes it in the same 
language as that of Genesis. ' ' I beheld the earth and, 
lo, it was waste and void, and the heavens and they 
gave no light. " ' The statement, ' ' There was no more 
sea," tells us a very different state of earth is to exist 
not only on the surface of the earth but above it. The 
fires of the last day will vaporize the waters of the 
oceans, and unless removed elsewhere, these vapors 
would be suspended as a canopy over the earth or in 
rings or circles, as is the case with some of the stars ; 
Saturn for example. This will undoubtedly produce 
very different climatic conditions. The result of the 
earth's fiery baptism will be the entire destruction of 
every form of evil, physical as well as moral. The 
countless forms of disease and the germs by which 
they are propagated, will be completely destroyed. It 
will be earth's purification. Its baptism of water will 
be followed by its baptism of fire. Through these, 
the earth will come into fellowship with the great 
company of unfallen worlds. 

In the new creation, Christ will simply follow the 
process begun in the old, and manifested in every 
phase of cosmical and spiritual acting all along the ages. 
Christlieb thus states this principle of divine acting : — 

"The spiritual life of Christ breaks forth in a manifesta- 
tion in the visible worlcj, by revivifying the bodies of those that 
are sanctified, in the "first resurrection." In the succeeding 
general resurrection, an act of Christ's power which extends 
to the whole of the corporeal world, and introduces the great 
mundane catastrophe, as well as in the formation of a new 
heaven and earth, this grand and gradual process of the 
world's renewal has its fitting consummation." 2 

'Jer. iv. 23; Gen. i. I. 

2 Modern Doubt and Christian Belief." 

25 



386 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

We may expect to see a world rilled with the prod- 
ucts of creative work in the animal and plant spheres. 
They were not out of place in Eden, nor will they be 
here. There is no sin in organic things, nor does it 
come from them. All nature, as in our first chapter 
has been seen, is holy to the Lord. The efforts of 
every spot left free to the operation of nature, to be- 
come filled with life and verdure, to obliterate the 
ravages of man, and to restore all things, tells us a 
little of what we may expect when God gives the 
word for a perfect work. There will not be a barren 
spot, not a noxious weed or insect. 

The descent of the New Jerusalem from heaven 
to earth is accompanied by the words of a voice from 
the Throne, which is within the city, saying, ' ' Be- 
hold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall 
dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and 
God himself shall be with them, and be their God ; 
and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes ; 
and death shall be no more ; neither shall there 
be mourning nor crying, nor pain any more ; the 
first things are passed away. And he that sitteth 
on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." 1 
The first plain teaching of this divine message direct 
from the throne of God is that when the New Jerusa- 
lem descends to the new earth, it finds people already 
there. It is an inhabited earth to which it comes. 
It does not bring this population with it. They are 
evidently not a part of the great body who are in the 
city. Indeed, the fact that the city comes to them 
and that this coming of the city and God is to them 
the great event, shows plainly that they are on earth. 
It is stated they are not to inhabit the city, but to 
live in the light of it. When we remember that the 
city comes from heaven, while this company is of 
the earth, there is in connection with all before said, 
a plain inference that they are different in nature 

1 Rev. xxi. 3-5. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 387 

also. This conclusion is more certain from the state- 
ments made concerning them. 

The terms applied to these residents of the new 
earth are peculiar and very different from those ap- 
plied to the residents in the city itself. The inhabit- 
ants of the earth to whom the city comes, and to 
whom God comes with it, are spoken of as "men" 
and " peoples," and they are spoken of in connection 
with tears and death and mourning and crying and 
pain, all of which it is said are now to cease. The 
tears are to be wiped from their eyes. If these are 
resurrected persons, these allusions and declarations 
seem very strange. Wiping away all tears from the 
faces of risen saints is something wholly irreconcilable 
with their nature and state. The promise of banish- 
ing death from those who have gotten the victory over 
death by resurrection, is also incongruous, and so is 
the promise of no mourning, crying, or pain. The 
further state of these is indicated by the expression, 
"The kings of the earth." The risen saints would 
scarcely be so spoken of either by this title, or as bring- 
ing their glory into the city where they constantly 
abide. It is further said, "They shall bring the 
glory and honor of the nations into it." 1 

Dr. Elijah R. Craven writes on this as follows : — 

"We should distinguish between the citizens of the city 
and the nations. The former are risen and glorified saints 
who constitute the Bride, the governors of the new creation. 
The latter are probably men in the flesh who • walk in the 
light of the city,' who 'bring their glory and honor into it,' 
and who are healed (or kept in health) by the leaves of the 
Tree of Life, 2 i. e., who are under its instruction. . . . The 
nations will consist of men in the flesh, freed from sin and 
the curse, begetting a holy seed and dwelling in blessedness 
under the government of the New Jerusalem. They will not 
be the offspring of the glorified saints, who ' neither marry 
nor are given in marriage,' but the descendants of those who 
live in the period of the millennial kingdom. . . . The 6ame 

1 Rev. xxi. a6. • Rev. xxi. 24-37; xxii. *. 



388 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

almighty power that conveyed Noah and his family across 
the waters of the first deluge, can bear other families across 
the fiery floods of the second. It may be retorted that there 
is no promise of such a miracle. That there is no expressed 
promise is admitted, but the divine prediction of an event 
ever implies the promise of a sufficient cause." 1 

Part of the original curse on man was reversed 
after the flood, as we noted in the covenant made 
with Noah : "I will not again curse the ground any 
more for man's sake. " 2 The curse upon creation is 
removed at the millennium as Paul says : "The Crea- 
tion itself also shall be delivered from the bondage 
of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the chil- 
dren of God." 3 But the curse of a sinful nature 
remained upon man. This is now removed in the 
beginning of the eternal ages by the edict from the 
Throne: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with 
men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall 
be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, 
and be their God ; and he shall wipe away every 
tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more ; 
neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain 
any more ; the first things are passed away. And 
he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make 
all things new."* In this there is a complete reversal 
of the original curse in all its relations. First, the 
communion and presence of God is restored. Sec- 
ond, sorrow and suffering are removed, and death is 
banished. The final sentence shows the complete- 
ness of the restoration : ' ' The first things are passed 
away;" "Behold I make all things new." The 
original curse is now completely abolished. Human- 
ity is at last free from sorrow, suffering, and sin. 
In each individual the spirit dominates soul and body, 
and both are glorified thereby, and brought by this 
control of the spiritual nature into unity with all other 

*Lange'8 Commentary, Revelation, p. 391. 3 Gen. viii. 21. 

8 Rom. viii. 21 * Rev. xxi, 3-5. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 389 

beings, all of whom, because of this spiritual nature 
and its supremacy, and through it as the channel of 
communication and life are brought into immediate 
and full connection with God through the flow of the 
Holy Spirit. In this state every physical act is fault- 
less and every exercise of the mind is holy. All are 
filled with the fulness of God. 

These are then restored humanity entering the 
new earth. They are what Adam was before he fell, 
and therefore are fit for the presence of God, who can 
now resume the original fellowship of Eden so long 
interrupted. This will be the perfect restoration of 
humanity never before secured. It will be a victory 
not to be secured otherwise. The resurrection is 
victory over death, but man must die in order to rise. 
The translation of living believers saves man by lift- 
ing him above mortality into another sphere. The 
great restoration of the race gives him spirituality and 
immortality in his own sphere. It makes natural 
man superior to the power of death and sin. There 
is bestowed upon the restored race more than Adam 
enjoyed. By the death of Christ the spiritual power 
of sin was destroyed. In the millennium the social 
dominion of sin is removed. By the eternal edict 
from the Throne, that in man which responds to 
the attack of temptation, is removed. Man will be 
physically, psychically, and spiritually perfect. The 
first man was of the earth, earthy, but he is so no 
longer. By the edict from the Throne, he is made 
new. If God is to be glorified in the eternal state 
by material creatures and beauties in nature, why 
not by the crowning work of creation, perfected man ? 
To lay man aside in the hour of final victory, would 
be to acknowledge a mistake in his creation or a de- 
feat in his redemption. The perfection of the new 
earth will require the perfection of man in all his 
relationships and faculties. 

There are some objections to this view which we 



390 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

should consider here. The first is the scripture which 
says, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom 
of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." 1 
Paul is speaking here of unregenerate man and the 
necessity of a resurrection for the admittance of 
such into the kingdom of God. The persons we 
speak of are regenerate, and they are not ' ' corruption " 
in any sense. The body of Adam was not "corrup- 
tion." It was in the kingdom of God also. The place 
in the kingdom to which Paul refers above, however, 
is that of sovereignty in the kingdom, which is not the 
place of the restored race. They are not rulers but 
subjects. They are no doubt the millennial popula- 
tion which must under the conditions of peace, plenty, 
health, and holiness have assumed immense propor- 
tions. These are not after spoken of as either killed 
or translated. The vast population of earth did not 
all join the last apostasy, we may feel sure. No 
account of their subsequent history is given us. All 
that were sinful were no doubt slain, and joined the 
dead who appeared for judgment. But these others 
were not dead, and doubtless passed over into the 
new earth as living. 

There seems at first something incongruous in the 
idea of there being a race of human beings living as 
now, and increasing in the eternal ages. This comes 
partly from preconceived opinions as to the future 
state. There is nothing in Scripture forbidding the 
idea of material beings in the eternal ages. It is the 
leaven of heathenism in our Christianity, which dep- 
recates the material as inherently sinful, and that 
true holiness can only be obtained by abstraction from 
all this, and in a state of etherialism hereafter. A 
mystical state has come to be considered as the nec- 
essary condition for purity. Another reason comes 
from considering the fall as having consisted in, or 
having led to, the introduction of marital relations. 

1 1 Cor. xv. 50. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 39 1 

This we have seen has no foundation in Scripture. 
Such relations and the propagation of the race were 
contemplated in the creation of man, as the following 
scripture states : " And God created man in his own 
image, in the image of God created he him ; male and 
female created he them. And God blessed them ; 
and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and 
replenish the earth." 1 Here is express command be- 
fore the fall for the propagation of the race. What 
was right and fitting in the original Eden, is also fit- 
ting in the new earth. There was here contemplated 
the holy increase of the race of man, and their gradual 
filling of the earth. 

There is another essential reason, however, why 
we must consider these to be earthly people. There 
is called for by the whole plan of God as we have 
seen it, and by numerous passages, the idea of con- 
stant increase in the numbers of the people of Christ 
during the ages of eternity. The Scriptures declare, 
" Of the increase of his government and of peace there 
shall be no end." 2 We cannot conceive of the work 
of God coming to a stand as to the number of his 
people, no matter what the extent of their individual 
advancement might be. The whole law of God in 
nature and in grace is increase. We have followed 
this progress from the beginning, and seen not only 
advance in the character of the individuals, and the 
manifestations of God's character and grace, but the 
spread of the work of God numerically among men. 
It is wholly irreconcilable with the apparent plan of 
divine action, to suppose this increase will stop when 
the full victory of Christ over sin is gained. It leaves 
the great scheme of redemption narrowed to those 
gathered out of mankind who remain thereafter a 
fixed number. Christ could create new beings, but 
these would not be the race which he purchased 
with his blood. The same scriptures which speak 

1 Gen. i. 27, 28. » Isa. ix. 7. 



392 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

of the perpetuity of the earth also speak of the con- 
tinuance of the ordinances and people of the earth. 
The covenant was made for " perpetual generations." 
The new earth is described in this state by Bick- 
ersteth : — 

" And easily we found 
Each haunt to memory dear of pilgrim days, 
Each hill and valley; for the flood of fire 
Which wrapped the earth in its baptismal robe, 
Had purged, not changed its lineaments ; as once 
The deluge of great waters overwhelmed 
All life, except the cradled church, but left 
Creation's landmarks and the river beds 
Coasting the land of Shinar undisturbed. 
The wastes of ocean only were no more, 
Nor wastes of sand, nor aught of barrenness ; 
And yet the earth through all her vast expanse 
Of golden plains and rich umbrageous hills 
Already seemed too narrow for the growth 
Of her great family ; so quick 
The virtue of her Maker's law, when once 
Sin's crushing interdict was disannulled, 
That primal law, ' Be fruitful ; multiply 
Your joys ; replenish and subdue the earth.* " * 

There is diversity in the population of the new 
earth. We read in the account of the descent of the 
New Jerusalem to earth: "They shall be his peo- 
ples." The plural in the form of the latter word is 
very significant. Not a single people, but many fami- 
lies of peoples. The same is also expressed by the 
plural form of the word ' ' nations. " There is govern- 
mental life in the new earth. The Scripture speaks 
of the "kings of the earth." This gives us the idea 
of self-government to some degree. These kings are 
not the saints who occupy the higher relations to the 
earth, but their own rulers in subordination to the 
rule of Christ and his assistants. There is diversity 
of gifts and place in the new earth. There is no such 
idea in the Scriptures as a common level of character 
or position or ability in the descriptions of the eter- 
nal state. Such ideas of leveling come from below 

1 "Yesterday, To-day, and For Ever," book xii., line 1482. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 393 

and not from above. A state of pure communism is 
impossible and impracticable anywhere. 

The whole picture is that of an orderly kingdom 
having its capital city, and reigning king with his 
immediate family and court, and others who occupy 
positions of power and honor, and still a greater 
number who assist in many ways, and still larger 
numbers who have no such special honors, but have 
the privileges of the capital city, and a vast num- 
ber of subjects, happy in being under such a king. 
It is a wholly natural life and state altogether differ- 
ent from the unnatural and unscriptural idea of 
heaven, which is a mixture of heathenism, spiritual- 
ism, poetry, and rationalistic theology. 



A great fact is brought to our attention by astron- 
omy. Besides the elementary unity of the universe, 
it has also an organized unity. It is one in its whole 
construction and motion. It is one vast mechanism. 
We can understand this by beginning at the unit, for 
us, of the stellar universe. Our earth is the center 
of a system consisting of itself and a single satellite — 
the moon. This is a type of the whole existing uni- 
verse, as the latest conclusions of astromony seem 
to indicate. This earth system is itself related as a 
satellite to a greater orb, the sun, around which earth 
revolves, drawing its satellite with it. But the sun 
is only a member of a greater system of which it is 
but a single sun of many others, all revolving around 
a greater sun. This whole sun system is, it is be- 
lieved, also involved in a vast system of such sun 
systems, all revolving about some distant center to 
us, unknowable in the present state of knowledge. 
We have every reason to believe that the whole 
existing universe of worlds, however far it extends, 
is one great mechanism revolving about the throne 
of God, from whence they get the power we call 



394 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

gravity, and other forces, and by which all is kept 
in being. 

This suggests a view as to the meaning of the 
expression, "the new heavens," which are to accom- 
pany the new earth. We read of there being no 
longer need of the sun, and the inference is that this 
familiar orb is no longer present. The sun in Scrip- 
ture is associated with earthly things. In Ecclesi- 
astes, ' ' under the sun " is wholly the earthly view. 
The sun is the source of the calamities in two of the 
plagues poured upon the earth in judgment. It 
would be then fitting if earth were to be released 
from its grasp. We know this earth is not the center 
of the universe, but on the contrary very far from 
it, in a corner of the universe, in fact, where stars are 
comparatively few and far between. Yet it is to be 
the site of the city and throne of God. John beholds 
the latter coming down from heaven. The same 
effect would be produced if the earth was caught up 
to heaven. It would be seen then as if coming down 
from God. Will this be the case ? Will this poor, 
little, sinful, dark earth itself be taken into the bosom 
of God ? To be caught away from the scenes of its 
suffering and sin in a physical rapture, would be fol- 
lowing out the spiritual method in the translation 
of the saints. There are cosmical reasons, too, 
which seem as if some such change would be re- 
quired. It would give to the new earth the new 
heavens mentioned. This would make the scene 
of Calvary the center of the universe. No longer 
would any wonder at the small and distant earth 
as the sphere of such tremendous events. The cen- 
ter of the universe would be earth, the site of the 
throne of God. This would complete the work of 
Christ for earth as well as for man. To see every 
particle of the world he died upon, lifted up into 
the regions of eternal bliss, and given up to God for- 
ever, would complete redemption. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 395 

The closing scene of the work and age of redemp- 
tion is thus described : " Then cometh the end, when 
he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the 
Father ; when he shall have abolished all rule and all 
authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath 
put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy 
that shall be abolished is death. For, He put* all things 
in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All 
things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is 
excepted who did subject all things unto him. And 
when all things have been subjected unto him, then 
shall the Son also himself be subjected unto him, that 
God maybe all in all." 1 Christ ever acknowledged 
this relation of himself to God: "The Father is 
greater than I ;" "The Son can do nothing of him- 
self, but what he seeth the Father doing ; for what 
things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in 
like manner." 2 All this is explained by the relation- 
ship of Father and Son. It is at once a position of 
equality and yet subordination ; equality in nature, 
subordination in action and office. There is given 
here by Christ the last and full and eternal example 
in his hour of complete triumph, of absolute submis- 
sion to God over all. We have looked at great public 
scenes in the life of Christ : when he finished creation ; 
when he relinquished primeval glory and stepped down 
and into human life and was born into the world ; 
when he hung on the cross, and when he ascended and 
was received on high ; when he came in wrath against 
the enemies of God and man, when he led his church 
to the throne of the Majesty on high ; but this final 
scene when he lays at the feet of the Father the com- 
plete results of the full work for man, heaven, and 
nature is the climax of his greatness. In taking 
his place at the feet of the Father, he leads all in 
earth and heaven to the same place of submission and 
blessing. 

1 f Cor. xv. 24-28. ■ John xiv. 28 ; v. 19. 



396 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

But the submission of all things to the Father is not 
the cessation of his work. It is not enough, even to 
satisfy our small minds, that sin and its effects should 
be banished and all restored as at first to be even 
more beautiful and holy than in Eden. We think and 
desire to know and see more. What after heaven is 
fully established ? How shall we spend eternity ? 
What will be the work of Christ during the endless 
aeons ? Our knowledge of the past work of Christ 
leads us to know that it will be an advance in extent 
and kind. The climax of the work of God is not 
reached. Indeed we have reason to believe there can 
be no climax either in the work of God or in a Chris- 
tian's experience. But where is the field for a greater 
work than saving a world ? What can be greater 
than redemption ? Where will Christ find a field for 
the display of the vast powers of his divine nature ? 
We are prepared for surprises in heaven, and there 
will be many such. There is some light possible to a 
thoughtful mind which will give itself to the consid- 
eration of this in a believing and desiring frame of 
mind. Scripture, Nature, and Christian reason help 
us to some hints. We may be mistaken in our at- 
tempts to picture the future, but we cannot exaggerate. 
We are at liberty to think about the matters of the 
other world, and urged to do so, and to set our affec- 
tions upon them. 

In studying Christ in the eternal past, we consid- 
ered two infinite conceptions. One of these was the 
great fact of limitless space. There is no possible 
or conceivable end or boundary to space. We can- 
not think of a point, no matter how remote, where 
there is not farther extension. The science of as- 
tronomy tells us that wherever space extends, there 
stars exist, beyond our farthest point of observation. 
These stars are worlds. The fixed stars are suns like 
our own, only most of them are far larger. These 
suns are doubtless surrounded as ours is, with planets 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 397 

like our earth. The spectroscope shows the same 
elements to exist in the sun and stars as in our earth, 
showing not only a common origin, but a similar 
constitution, and doubtless similar conditions. The 
numbers of stars or suns identified and counted are 
far up in the hundreds of millions. But these are 
only a fraction of those within range of our vision, 
but so distant as to appear only as clouds. Single 
points have, under more powerful glasses, separated 
into clusters of stars, and the clouds have proved to 
be universes. 

M. Camille Flammarion thus describes the view 
of the heavens : — 

" Let us imagine that we thus sail a million years with 
the velocity of light, 186,000 miles a second. Are we at the 
confines of the visible universe ? See the black immensities 
we must cross ! But yonder new stars are lit up in the 
depths of the heavens. We push on toward them. We 
reach them. Again a million years ; new revelations ; new 
starry splendors ; new universes ; new worlds ; new earths. 
What, never an end? We are at the vestibule of the infinite. 
We have advanced but a single step. We are always at the 
same point, — the center everywhere, the circumference 
nowhere. We see before us the infinite of which the study 
is not yet begun. We have seen nothing. We recoil in 
terror. We might fall in a straight line during a whole 
eternity nor ever reach the bottom. It is infinite in all 
directions." * 

All this is the work of Christ, and part of his great 
plan, whatever it is. We must believe in the unity 
of the divine plan. We must believe in purpose in 
all this vast creation. We must also believe that it 
is, or is to be, the scene of life. It is true of every 
place on earth. Earth, air, and sea swarm with 
life. So must that vast material universe in the 
coming ages, if not now. This is the plan of God 
as seen in all nature. These stars, however beautiful 
they may be to sight as a spectacle, do not fulfil the 
demands of reasonable consideration as such. The 

'"Popular Astronomy," New York, 1894. 



398 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

most of them are not seen by man at all, and few 
more than dimly seen at best. While it is true that 
many a flower blooms and fades unseen, and many 
a gem lies unknown to man, yet the worlds of the 
heavens are so great, so many, that knowing God as 
the God of design and life and purpose, we are irre- 
sistibly led to feel these great and innumerable worlds 
are to be the scene of life and activity. Further, the 
same arguments lead us to believe they must be 
intended as the spheres of intelligent life, of beings 
who can enjoy all this, and think, and reason, and 
glorify the Creator of all. Here, then, is the field 
worthy of the powers of Christ, boundless space 
the scene of the work of Christ, and eternity the 
duration of his operation. To fill these worlds with 
life and beauty, to people them with living, happy 
beings as the new earth, is a work worthy of Christ, 
and which will be work for eternity, for space and 
duration run on interminably together. The predic- 
tion was, ' ' Of the increase of his government there 
shall be no end." Increase, then, is the work of 
Christ, and here is its sphere. 

We ask what beings will inhabit these new 
worlds ? Christ could create races for each as he 
did man for earth. He could also repeat the work 
of redemption upon each. But both of these sup- 
positions seem incredible. Either, as said before, 
would be a break in the continuity of the divine plan. 
It would be a departure from the plan as we have 
seen it unrolled before us, in which each age grows 
out of the preceding and leads up to another, and 
each advances upon a forecasted plan. Besides, if 
other races were created, sin might come to them, 
and other and greater falls take place. The whole 
outlook seems to comprehend extension of the work 
already commenced. 

Looking back to the beginning, we conceived the 
plan of God to be the production of a race of beings 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 399 

of a character established in holiness, whom he could 
trust under all circumstances, and to whom he could 
commit the carrying out of his great designs. We 
noted the repeated sowings and siftings by which 
such a race was produced, the care to exclude all 
tares at the last great sifting. We are irresistibly 
led to believe God has some great purpose in man, 
aside from the peopling of this little world. It has 
often been a source of wonder that God should 
choose so small a world as the scene of Calvary, — 
that in a universe so vast, the Almighty God should 
pass by all those great worlds and come to this small, 
distant, and inferior earth, and here display his 
power and personality as the story of the Bible de- 
clares. As a finality, it is wholly inexplicable, but 
as a means to some vast purpose, we can understand 
it. The purpose has been intimated. The care in 
selecting the seed, the time in preparation, the place 
at the beginning of the eternal future, all attest the 
connection of earth with this great ultimate purpose. 
Earth is but a seed-bed from which God will people 
the heavens. This purified race are to be the pro- 
genitors of worlds of such holy, happy creatures. 
If our view of the preservation of a human race 
from the last destruction of the world, in their earthly 
bodies, is correct, some sphere for the accommoda- 
tion of the increase of the race will be required. In 
a thousand years they would so increase as to fill 
the earth far beyond the present most crowded parts. 
From whatever point we view the future of the eter- 
nal age, we are led to see that there must be increase, 
and room for it. We can see plainly the room for 
the spread of the increase and the increase itself, and 
there seems to be no Scriptural or reasonable objec- 
tion to this. Indeed, the Scripture tells us plainly 
the church is to be but " a kind of first-fruits of his 
creatures." 1 If sin had not come to man, some pro- 
vision for the accommodation of the race in the cer- 

1 JUDM I. l8. 



400 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

tain event of their finally filling the earth, would have 
been necessary ; and their removal to some other 
world would have been undoubtedly effected. In 
short, the plan here proposed as the possible design 
of God in the preparation of the universe, seems to 
have been the plan from eternity. 

One of God's great promises will be fulfilled liter- 
ally by such a work in the universe as we have de- 
scribed. The promise made to Abraham was five 
times repeated. The first giving was this: "I will 
make thy seed as the dust of the earth ; so that if a 
man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy 
seed also be numbered. " Again the promise was thus 
given : ' ' And he brought him forth abroad, and said, 
Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou 
be able to tell them ; and he said unto him, So shall 
thy seed be." It was his faith in this last which 
brought him salvation. It was again repeated : "In 
blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will mul- 
tiply thy seed as the sand which is upon the sea 
shore." God again repeats it near the end of his life : 
" I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven." To 
Jacob the same promise is given : "Thy seed shall be 
as the dust of the earth ; M1 of this promise Jacob re- 
minds God in his day of trouble. This applying to 
the seed of Jacob alone, vastly increases the propor- 
tions of the promise. This was figuratively fulfilled in 
the age of Solomon when, as the scripture says, the 
children of Israel were as the sand of the sea, and 
later when Paul tells us the same. But here in this 
eternal view is the literal fulfilment of the promise 
upon which the covenant to Abraham was based. It 
is not rhetoric. It is not hyperbole. It is actual 
certitude that if the worlds, innumerable as astronomy 
tells us they are, should be peopled as the earth is 
and will be in the time of blessedness, the actual num- 
ber of the population of the universe would be as in- 

l Gen. xiii. 16 ; xv. 5 ; xxii. 17; xxvi. 4 ; xxviii. 14; xxxii. 12. 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 4OI 

numerable, on any system of human computation, as 
the sand of the sea or the dust of the earth. 

The mission of the church is indicated by the 
recurrence and use and composition of the number 
twelve. It is typical of the completeness of God in 
man. It is the multiple of three, the number of di- 
vine personality, and four, the number everywhere 
indicating humanity and universal extension and 
completion. So the number of the tribes of Israel 
and of the apostles is twelve, and the foundations of 
the city and the gates are twelve, and the dimensions 
are measured by twelve. In the previous age the 
number of perfection was seven, three added to four, 
— God added to man, indicating the work upon the 
church as distinguished from the work with the church. 
In the eternal state the progress of the church will 
be multiplied by the divine ratio. The open gates 
opening to all quarters, indicate further the universal 
mission of the church in eternity. These directions, 
east, west, north, and south, are sidereal as well as 
geographical. They indicate universality as to other 
worlds as well as earth. We can conceive of the 
saints endowed with divine or angelic power of flight, 
going upon missions to distant worlds. We can be- 
lieve their responsibilities will extend to these worlds. 
They will occupy relations of superiority as well as of 
love and mercy. Those who saw the age of sin and 
were combatants in that age and struggled and over- 
came, will be to these worlds as veterans are to us. 
Their numbers cannot be added to, for the story of 
sin will never be repeated, we feel sure. Such will 
occupy a position unique among the myriads of the 
universe. They may become world rulers, well 
trained for the great responsibility by their lives of 
struggle. 

This view opens up a realm for vast pos- 
sibilities of attainment as well as accomplishment. 
These thoughts will show us that eternity is not the 
16 



402 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

vague and empty sphere some imagine, that the 
other life and world may be so full of histories of peo- 
ples, nations, worlds, and events, as will make our 
earth story seem brief and small. So not only limit- 
less extension but endless variety are in the prospect. 
There will be the rise of problems for solution, emer- 
gences to meet, great designs to plan, conditions to 
provide for. To the three infinities, — God, duration, 
and space, — we must add another, — infinite possi- 
bilities. 

The work of the church in the eternal ages is 
thus described Dy Bickersteth : — 

11 Ceaseless, indeed, our ministry, and limitless 
The increase of that government and peace, 
Messiah's heritage and ours. For as 
Our native orb ere long too strait became 
For its blest habitants, not only some 
Translated without death, for death was not, 
As Enoch joined the glorified in light ; 
But at the voice of God, the stars, which rolled 
Innumerous in the azure firmament, 
By thousands and ten thousands, as he spake 
Six words of power, the seventh, it was done, 
Were mantled and prepared as seats of life ; 
And it was ours to bear from earth and plant, 
Like Adam, in some paradise of fruits 
The ancestors of many a newborn world, 
Like Adam, but far different issue now, 
Sin and the curse and death forever crushed. 
And thus from planet on to planet spread 
The living light. As when some white-robed priest 
Himself, surrounded by his acoylites, 
In some vast minster, from the altar fire 
Lighting his torch, walks through the slumbrous aisles, 
And kindles, one by one, the brazen lamps 
That on the fluted columns cast their shade, 
Or from the frescoed ceiling hang suspense, 
Until the startled sanctuary is bathed 
In glory, and the evening chant of praise 
Floats in the radiance ; so it was in heaven; 
God's temple, the expectant firmament, 
Hung with its lamps, innumerable 6tars ; 
The Priest, Messiah ; earth, the altar flame ; 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 403 

Angels and saints, the winged messengers ; 
And that great choral eucharist, the hymn 
Of all creation's everlasting praise." * 

The nature of the perfected relationship of all 
things to each other and to God is intimated in this 
scripture : ' ' For this cause I bow my knees unto the 
Father, from whom every fatherhood in heaven and 
earth is named. " 8 The term ' ' Fatherhood " is descrip- 
tive of all relationships from that of the Godhead 
down through all things. Every family is a reproduc- 
tion of the Godhead. All its persons are represented 
there. The family is made in the image of God. 
It is a copy of the heavenly family. This plan of 
organization is universal. It is the divine plan for 
this and all worlds. We see the organization of all 
things on the paternal plan. Emperors, kings, presi- 
dents, are but fathers in their office, and should be in 
their action. They are but successors of the patriarch, 
who was but the tribe father. The apostle intimates 
the heavenly hosts are arranged upon the same great 
divine plan of the family. Indeed, we read of the 
heavenly Eldership, and we know of superior rulers 
among the angels. Still lower in the scale is the 
innumerable fatherhoods of nature. All plants, in- 
sects, and animals are arranged in fatherhoods. 
Every parent bird or creature with its circle of de- 
pendent little ones is but a transcript of the great 
Fatherhood over all. The very inorganic things 
show the same arrangement. The solar system is 
but a fatherhood of worlds. The whole universe of 
material things is arranged upon the one plan. 

The first reference of the apostle in this use of the 
term of fatherhood is to the church. It is arranged 
on earth after the fashion of a family. The church is 
still patriarchal. The more closely the church con- 
forms to the model of the family, the more closely it 

1 "Yesterday, Today, and For Ever," book xii, line 600. 
* Eph. iii. 14, 15, marginal reading. 



404 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

conforms to the ideal form as well as state. This 
arrangement of the church in fatherhoods is to con- 
tinue in the eternal state. We must not suppose 
the church to be in heaven one undivided, unarranged 
mass. It will have its subdivisions and lesser and 
greater parts. There will be rule among the saints 
as well as by them. There must be such order for 
the perfect state as well as for this present condition. 
Abraham is the head of such a fatherhood. Many of 
his seed will thus address him. Paul has such a 
position to us Gentiles. We are his spiritual chil- 
dren. Doubtless he will be considered worthy of 
headship over those who followed him as he did 
Christ. This is the relationship of the apostles de- 
clared by Christ when he promised they should sit on 
thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. The posi- 
tion is that of a fatherhood rather than that of mere 
authority of superior position. So on down the line 
of the church, we can see an orderly system estab- 
lished by the bonds of affectionate allegiance to those 
appointed in the wisdom of God to have the duties 
and position of the fatherhoods of the heavenly 
church. 

These many fatherhoods are to be brought into 
perfect condition as to each other, and into unity with 
the Father over all. The perfection of nature, man, 
and heaven is contemplated in the consummation of 
all things. Every fatherhood having been made 
complete in itself will then be made part of the one 
Fatherhood. It implies not only the authority of God 
over all, but the right relation of all things to God. 
This is the work of Christ. To effect this he came 
and died and lives and is coming again. This will be 
the effect of the whole work of redemption. The title, 
Father, expresses God's nature and rule and work as 
no other does. It was brought to us by Christ. It 
was the name for God constantly on the lips of Christ. 
It expressed not only his own relationship, but the 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 405 

ideal state he had in mind and for which he strove. 
It is all inclusive of the attributes and offices of God. 
He is therein Creator, Preserver, Ruler, and final 
Judge. 

In the Fatherhood of God there will be established 
the perfect theocracy, — God reigning absolutely and 
directly over all. The relationship is described in the 
preceding scriptures. The order is God the Father, 
Christ, the glorified saints arranged in closer or wider 
circles in the New Jerusalem, then the angelic hosts 
of many and varying offices, then the myriads of hu- 
manity and innumerable worlds of organic and inorganic 
nature, all permeated by the Spirit of God, and living, 
moving, and having their being by the life of God 
through the Holy Spirit and directed by the will of 
God, in perfect unison, every thought and act respon- 
sive to the mind of God. This is the goal of all 
things. It was in the mind of the apostle when he 
wrote: "That God may be all in all." To have 
a part in this infinity of existence, happiness, holiness, 
and achievment is the possibility, yea, the certainty, 
on divine conditions of this life we live. 

Eternity, as we have noted, consists of successive 
ages. If the belief of the Jewish church and of the an- 
cient Christian church is right, the whole history of 
man is but a week of which the millennium is the 
Sabbath. " A thousand years are with the Lord as 
one day." If this is the case, there may come in the 
great weeks of eternity, the Sabbaths of universal 
rest and worship, when by some means, even now 
beginning to be understood, by the mutual relation 
of light and sound, all the universe may come into 
one accord in great anthems of praise, and the 
"music of the spheres" be more than a figure of 
speech. 

God gave his ancient people the model social 
state and worship. The worship of Israel may 



406 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

yet be repeated on a universal scale. The yearly 
feasts may be but figures of the great feasts of eter- 
nity, when representatives of worlds will gather to 
the new Jerusalem to celebrate a Saviour's dying 
love and reigning power and glory. There may be 
great years of rest, when even the bliss of eternity 
will be multiplied. There may come great jubilees 
in the eternal cycles, when even greater gifts shall be 
given, and perhaps myriads raised from lower to 
higher places of glory and power, and even millen- 
niums of greater glory. Eternity is not one long 
unbroken period, but is arranged in ages or periods 
as the time we have known, and we may believe 
that they are distinguished by peculiarities as those 
we have known. We have seen in the succession 
of the ages of earth and man, development. One 
age prepares for another, and this opens up into one 
still more advanced. One age is to another as seed 
to plant and this to flower and this to harvest. But 
harvest only means a new sowing and a still greater 
growing and harvests unceasing. The same opera- 
tion we have every reason to believe will continue. 
God's plan is one. Great ages will come and go. 
New purposes will dawn upon the universes. The 
resources of the Almighty are inexhaustible. There 
will be no climax with its inevitable retrogression. 
It will be progress ever upward, onward, nearer and 
still nearer to God, the infinite and eternal. 

We may now see what great things lay upon the 
heart of Christ as he came to earth and suffered and 
died. All eternity depended on the outcome of his con- 
flict. The future of other worlds than ours hung in 
the balance. All the universe had an interest in the 
great conflict. Success or failure were universal in 
their sweep. We see also in this great view of the 
work of Christ and its possibilities, the meaning of the 
promise, " He shall see of the travail of his soul and 
shall be satisfied." It must be an infinite aim which 



CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 407 

shall satisfy the heart of Christ. But it will be satisfied 
when he sees the myriads of worlds filled with holv, 
happy beings, circling in perfect harmony about the 
throne of God, each being growing in grace, and by 
some system of spiritual promotion, drawing nearer to 
the state of perfection of the risen saints, perhaps 
attaining as a great prize, that state as the reward of 
faithful effort. Instruction and development are part 
of the work of eternity. The great part Christ fills 
is that of the Shepherd. This will be as necessary 
in eternity as here. His flock will have increased by 
many million fold. All these will need to be fed 
spiritually and materially. Then will be fulfilled his 
prophecy, "There shall be one fold and one Shep- 
herd. " 

CONCLUSION. 

The subject of this book stands before two classes, 
— those who are the people of Christ, and those who 
are not. To the first, the message of the book is, that 
all Christ is described here, he is to you. This is your 
Creator, Saviour, Comforter, Intercessor, Judge, King, 
and Eternal Companion. If you believe this, act ac- 
cordingly. Every motive of love, gratitude, or even 
self-interest, bids you hasten to come to the decision 
to say, "For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain." 
Surely such gains are worth striving for. It is your 
privilege to enter into the acceptance and possession 
of all this by full submission to the will of God and 
acceptance of God's purpose in all its fulness for you. 
" All things are yours ; whether Paul, or Apollos, or 
Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things pres- 
ent, or things to come ; all are yours ; and ye are 
Christ's and Christ is God's." 

This book may be read by some who are not yet the 
people of God. You have read this with some won- 
der, perhaps incredulity, perhaps with personal indif- 
ference. Be assured you may have a part in the 



4O8 CHRIST IN THE ETERNAL FUTURE. 

blessings of the future. You may have all that is 
promised to any one in the Scripture. The Bible is 
given us for our sakes to save and bless us. It is by 
its appeals we are persuaded to come to Christ. 
Everything in Scripture, to the very highest attain- 
ment of perfection of character or glory, is included in 
the attainment of the place spoken of as "in Christ." 
Within this sphere lie all the blessings of the Chris- 
tian for this life, and that to come. It is a matter first 
of place, that is, where you stand as to Christ, a rela- 
tionship established when one takes Christ as his per- 
sonal Saviour, and commits the keeping of himself for 
time and eternity to Christ. This is coming to Christ. 
It is generally a definite act and is best so, that we 
may remember it and get comfort from the memory of 
the step. 

Have you come to Christ so ? If not, will you do 
so before you close this book, by saying to yourself 
and God, " I will this moment take Christ to be my 
Lord and Saviour, and begin to serve and follow 
him " ? If you will heartily do so, you may know by 
his own word in a thousand places, he does then and 
there receive you, and will keep you. To refuse to 
do this is to refuse to come to Christ, and thereby 
refuse eternal life, for "he that believeth on the Son 
hath eternal life ; but he that obeyeth not the Son 
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on 
him." Here are the two issues, there are no others. 
" The Spirit and the Bride say, Come ! " 



APPENDIX. 

NOTE 1. 

Exception has been taken to the view of the Six Days' 
creation on page 31. After re-examination of the whole sub- 
ject the view here presented seems to require no modification. 

In the first chapter of Genesis there is no reference to the 
creation of anything- outside the solar system at farthest, nor, 
indeed, to the actual creation of anj-thing- outside the earth. 
The only basis for the idea of the entire universe being- there 
referred to is the use of the word "heaven." This word is ex- 
pressly defined in the eighth verse as referring to the atmos- 
pheric heaven, and in the fourteenth verse, where it has a 
larger meaning, there is no call from the language or narra- 
tive for any larger outlook than the solar system. The crea- 
tion of the sun and moon and planets is not given in the 
Fourth Day's work, but only their adjustment to their places 
as light givers and season makers to earth. The word 
"create" does not occur there. It is "made," meaning placed. 
The language of the Fourth C mmandment calls for a lim- 
ited category. "In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 
the sea, and all that in them is." (Ex. xx: 11.) Here the 
statement and meaning is the same as we use when we say, 
"sky, land and water" or "air, earth and water." It is the 
common list of the constituents of our immediate environ- 
ment as seen from the standpoint of an observer on earth. 
To include in "heavens" the entire universe is wholly uncalled 
for by the statements in Genesis. The classifying of our 
small earth, and especially the sea, with the boundless uni- 
verse, is wholly incongruous and apart from the close accu- 
racy of the scriptures. The "stars" of the Fourth Day's 
work are the planets only. We still further limit the work of 
the Six Days by noticing that the creation of the earth is not 
there described. All that is given is the bare statement that 
it was created in the "beginning." When that was or how 
long time it required or by what agencies is not stated there. 
In other parts of scripture some account is given of the crea- 
tion of the earth and the universe, but not in the first chapter 
of Genesis. 

The most important point, however, is to notice the state 
of the earth when the Six Days' work begins. It is a finished 
earth, spherical in shape, and with all its contents as we hav« 
it to day so far as its waters, its rocky crust and the fossils 
are concerned. All that geology discloses was there when the 
present order of land and water surface of plants and ani- 
mals began. The state of the earth is described in the words, 
"The earth was waste and void." The references given in 
the chapter are enough to establish what state this was. Jer. 
iv: 24 shows it was an earth in ruins as when that of which 
Jeremiah prophesies is fulfilled at the last day. There are 



410 APPENDIX. 

other uses of the same words which make clear what is meant. 
In Isaiah xxxiv: 11 the same words are translated "confu- 
sion" and "emptiness," speaking of the fate of Edom as fol- 
lows: "He shall stretch over it the line of confusion and the 
plummet of emptiness." Both the figure and the fact here 
testify to the meaning of the words as used in the creation. 
Dr. W. H. Harper translates the sentence in Genesis, "And 
the earth was a desolation and a waste" (Heb. Manual, N. Y. 
1892, p. 18). Dr. J. G. Murphy in his "Critical Commentary 
on Genesis" translates tue passage, "And the earth had be- 
come waste and void." In short, the words do not describe 
the earth in chaos, but in a state of ruin and emptiness, as 
the result of great catastrophies. This is the story of geol- 
ogy. The vast masses of creatures, a small fraction of whose 
remains are disclosed to our view by geology found in all the 
activities of their lives, tell of a sudden overthrow and the 
ruin of the world in which they lived. It was over the ruins 
of this world that darkness spread and the universal sea 
rolled and over which the edict sounded, " Let there be light." 
It was this from which the vapors were commanded to lift 
and permit air to flow and which was the subject of the divi- 
sion of land and water. 

A still further limitation must be made of the Six Days' 
work of creation. There is nothing in the account to demand 
more than a limited creation of plants and animals within a 
limited sphere. The creation of a single man is warrant for 
the same idea as to other creatures. There is room here for 
the thought that many forms may have sprung from single 
typical ancestors, as many races of man from "one blood." 
But if so it was a speedy spread of such differentiation of the 
creatures. The slow process claimed by the evolutionist re- 
quires ages incompatible with the chronology of the geologist 
and still less of that of scripture. 

NOTE 2. 

Exception has also been taken to the statement on page 
144 as to Christ's coming to knowledge of his divinity. This 
page deals with the subject of our Eord in his human nature 
only as narrated in Euke ii: 40, SO, "And Christ grew and 
waxed strong in spirit filled with wisdom;" "and Jesus in- 
creased in wisdom and in stature." The meaning is evident 
that Jesus came into the world as unconscious as any other 
babe and in his human nature came gradually to all the vari- 
ous kinds of knowledge, including that of himself. As to the 
state of the divine personality during that time there is no 
explanation, nor have we the facts or the ability to under- 
stand this mystery. On page 135 it is stated we must leave 
this where God has left it, unexplained. There is no lower- 
ing of the doctrine of the deity of Jesus in the treatment 
of this matter, for the whole book is an effort to exalt this 
great truth, and does so in showing his pre-existence and 
supremacy. 



SUBJECT INDEX. 



Page 

Abraham 98, 100, 224, 400 

Advent of Christ 135-7 

Adam 70-91 

Agazzi 37, 38 

Allegories 47 

Alexander, Dr. Jas. W 319 

Alford, Dean 348-9 

Angels 30, 130 

Animals 72 

Antediluvians 92-5 

Antichrist 325 

Apostle's gospel 221-244 

Apostolic Church 261-2 

Apocalypse 292-8 

Apocalyptic Titles of 

Christ 295 

Apostate Church 332 

Ape 40 

Armagedon 338 

Atonement 226-231 

Auberlin, Dr 264,327 



Baxter 304 

Battle of Day of God 340-3 

Babylon 96, 124, 326-8, 337 

Barnes, Albert 303 

Beginning 17 

Bible, Scientific 49 

Bible, Objections to 51 

Birth of Christ 137 

Bickersteth 319, 392, 402 

Book of Life 362 

Body of Christ 254 

Bride of Christ 255, 336 

Briggs, Chas. A 273 

Breckenridge, Dr. R. J .274,315 

C 

CHRIST. 

Christ's ascension 201 

44 advent 135 

Christ after resurrec- 
tion 197-202 

Christ anointing 147 

11 and the fall 80 

" and the Father 

167-70 



Pag-e 

Christ and the Holy 

Spirit 147-8 

Christ and home ties 151 

11 andO. T 154 

" and Church.... 158, 254 

" and the World 161 

" and the Cross 171 

44 and the Passover. . . 171 

" and Satan 172 

" and Judas 180-2 

" and Disciples r*0-7 

Christ's burial 186 

" baptism 146 

" consciousness 144 

44 circumcision 139 

11 crucifixion 183-8 

" conception 135 

Christ delivering up king- 
dom 395-6 

Christ's divinity 154 

1 • Eternal Future 370 

14 Eternal Reward 372 

" Earthly Bearing.. 152-4 
" Earthly Mission 154,160 

" Effect of Death 232 

" First Born 22,131 

" Future 282 

Christ Giving Holy Spirit. 209 

Christ's Humiliation 132-5 

" Intercession. . .248, 251 

Christ in Day of Lord 285 

44 in His People 251-4 

44 in Last Battle 340-3 

44 in Paradise 188 

44 in Gethsemane 173-9 

44 in Present State 213 

44 in Creation 27, 59 

Christ's Ministry 170 

Christ, Master Workman.. .60 

Christ's Names 214-216 

44 New Name 373 

Christ on White Horse. . . .340 

Christ, Only Begotten 22 

Christ's Place in Our 
Age 278-82 

Christ's Present Locality. 207 

Christ, Prophet, Priest 

and King 23,25 



412 



SUBJECT INDEX. 



Page 

Christ, Risen 245 

Christ's Rejection 157 

1 ' Resurrection 184 92 

Christ's Reception in 

Heaven 207 

Christ's Redemption 

Work 228-31 

Christ, Son of God 168 

Christ's Second Coming.302 6 

" Silent Years 140-5 

M Trial 183-4 

Christ, Types of 128 

Christ Visit to Spirits. . .202 7 

Canaanites 112-14 

Calvin 304,349 

Church 56, 158 

Church and Death of 

Christ 243 

Church, Apostolic 261-2 

" Apostate 332 

" Divided 276 

11 Eternal 373,401-2 

Vitality of 276 

Chalmers, Thos 304, 319 

Christlieb 385 

Christendom, Sins of 321-3 

Clarke, J. Freeman 45 

Consecration 66 

Commonwealth of Israel. .115 

Creation, Design 57 

" Evidence 67 

" Gospel of 65 

Method 27 

Cremer, Prof. Hermann 263 
Curse Removed 387-90 

D 

Day 32 

Dawson, Sir W. J 38 

David 117-120 

Day of the Lord 285-369 

Day of Lord, Gospel in. . .329 
Day of Lord.JudgmenUof 326 

Da Costa 351 

Delitszch 56 

Divinity of Christ 155-6 

Disciples of Christ 193 

Dorner 274,325 

Drummond, Prof 40 

E 

Earth 58, 364, 383 

Eden 57 

Egypt 42, 107 



Pa*e 

Eschatology 289 

Eternal, Christ 5-8, 17 

Eternal, Past 17 

Eternal State..' 4<1 

Eternity, Cycles of 405-7 

Eve 56,84 

Evolution 36-46 

Eye 43 

Fatherhoods 403-5 

Fall, The 74-91 

Faith 65 

First Born 22 

Final Judgment 359 

First Resurrection 307-11 

Flammarion, M. C 397 

Flood, The 94 

Foreign Missions of O. T..124 

Foundation of World 20 

Frogs, Spirits Like 333-4 

G 

Genesis % 

Geologic Age 31, 41 

Gethsemane 173-9 

Gill-slits 41 

Gibbon 297, 364 

Gladstone 321 

Gospel in Creation 65 

Gospel to Israel 216 

Gospel to World 219 

Gospels, The ...160 

Gospel and Humanitarian- 
ism 237-9 

Gospel and Sermon on 

Mount 240-1 

Great White Throne.. . .359 63 
-I 

Hahn, John M 327 

Harlot 327-8 

Har-Magedon 338 

Heaven, 378 84 

Heaven, Fall in 82 

Hebrews, Epistle to 217 

Holy Spirit in Creation 27 

Holy Spirit in Christ 147 

Holy Spirit in Believer 147 

Hodge, Dr. Charles 384 

Huxley 27,39, 41,54 

I 

Imprecatory Psalms 119 

Interpretation of 

Prophecy 297-8 

Isaac 101 



SUBJECT INDEX. 



413 



Pag-e 

Israel in Egypt 102 107 

" Fall of 120-122 

44 Gospel to 216 

" in Day of Lord. . . .344-5 

" Rejection of 157 

J 
Jaraieson,Fausset &Brown353 

Jacob 101 

Jehovah 69, 129 

Jesus (see Christ) 

"Jesus' " Name 214 

Joshua Ill 

Jonah 124 

Joseph, the Carpenter. .139-40 

Joseph of Arimathea 186 

John's Gospel 160-1 

Judas 180-2 

Judgments on World. . .320 43 

Judgment of Saints 314-18 

Judgment of Apostate 

Church 333-4 

Jidprment, Final 359-63 

Junkin, Dr. Geo 384 

KL 

Kingdom, The 257 

of God 258,374 

of Heaven 258 

" of Israel 116 

Paablesof 260 

King of Kings 339-40 

L 
Lange..35, 53, 55, 300, 352. 367 

La.nb, The 2956 

Limb, Slain 89 

Law, The Uses of 125-127 

Levcn, Parable of 259 

Literal Interpretation. 48,291 3 

Lost, The 365-7 

Luther 304 

/Vl 

Maury, Lieut 51 

Man, Creation of 52-60 

Mary, Virgin 137 9 

Mary Magdalene 192 

Millennium 347 56 

Mueller, Rev. Geo 304 

M-scs 103 

Murchison, Sir R 38 

IN 

Newberry, Dr 70 

Newton, Sir Isaac 290 

New Creation 384-5 

New Earth 384-92 



Pacre 

New Heavens 394 402 

New Jerusalem 370, 379-84 

O 

O. T. Gospel 128 

Olshausen 318 

F» 

Passover 107 

Patterson, Dr Robert. 42. 273 

Parker, Theodore 162 

Paul 213 

Paul's Gospel 220-32, 236 

Pliny 364 

Preparation for Gospel... 267 
Prophets, The 121-2 

R 

Rapture of Saints 352-3 

Redemption Plan. 23, 24. 230-1 

Regeneration 36 

Renan 162 

Resurrection 190-235 

Resurrection of Saints .. .307 

Risen Saints 352-3 

Restored Humanity 388-93 

Richter 162 

Rousseau 162 

Ryle, Bishop 273, 290, 303 

S 

Salamander's Egg 54 

Satan. .82-87, 96, 148, 172, 

189, 204, 325, 345, 357 

Sacrifices 89 

Sanctification 108 

Schmidt 315 

Schmid, Dr. Rudolph 39 

Scripture 47 

Seth 92 

Sermon on Mount 240-1 

Sects 276 

Second Coming 302-6 

Six Days' Creation 32 

Sin 89 

Sign of Advent 302 

Sheep and Goats, Par. of .345 

Social State in Israel 1'5 

Space 17, 3% 

Spiritualizing 291-3 

Spurgeon 304 

Steffan 300 

Starke 348 

Stars 397 

T 
Taylor. Bishop Jeremy... .290 
Temptation of Christ . .149-50 



414 



TEXTUAL INDEX. 



Pan 

Three Unclean Spirits 338 

Theurer 354 

Thousand Years 348-9 

Tree of Life 81 

Translation of Saints. .311-14 

Trumpets, Seven 323 

Tyndal, Prof 39 

Tyndal, Wm 290 

U 

Universe 17, 29, 393 

Unity of Creation 27 

\/ 
Virgin Mary 137-9 



Pan 

Viala, Seven 330-1 

U! 

Wesley, John 349 

Westminster Confession. .303 

White Horse 340 

Witnesses, The Two 332 

Word, The 17-24 

Woman, Creation of 55 

World Since Christ 268 

World's Impenitence 324 

World's Conversion 275-82 

World's Destruction 363-4 

Wave Loaves 211 



TEXTUAL INDEX. 



GENESIS. 


Pa?e 


Gen. i:l 


...17,385 


Gen. i: 2 


...28,31 


Gen. i: 14 


33 


Gen. i: 26 


52 


Gen. i: 26, 27 


55 


Gen. i: 27, 28 


391 


Gen. i: 29, 30 


58 


Cen. ii:7 


,...28,53 


Gen. ii: 15 


72 


Gen. ii: 17 


..82,227 


Gen. ii: 19 


72 


Gen. ii: 21, 23 


56 


Gen. iii: 1 


84 


Gen. iii: 3 


84 




85 


Gen. iii: 8 


71 


Gen. iii: 22-23 


81 


Gen. vi: 3 


95 


Gen. vi: 5-12 


93 


Gen. vi: 5-7 


94 


Gen. vi: 11 


93 


Gen. viii: 21 


388 


Gen. ix: 4 


230 




400 




...400 


Gen. xv: 18 


116 


Gen. xxii: 17 


400 




...400 


Gen. xxviii: 14 




Gen. xxxii: 12 


400 


EXODUS. 




Ex. i: 14 




Ex. ii: 15 


23 


Ex. vi: 3-8 


106 


Ex. xxxii: 31,32 


109 



DEUTERONOMY. P a?e 

Deut. i:37 109 

Deut. iii: 26 109 

Deut. viii: 2, 3 109 

Deut. xviii: 15 128 

Deut. xxxii: 10, 11 107 

JOSHUA. 

Josh. iv:13, 14 Ill 

JUDGES. 

Judg. v:12 204 

II. SAMUEL. 

II. Sam. vii:16 117 

I. KINGS. 

I. Kings x: 27 117 

I. Kingsxix:4 175 

JOB. 

Jobi:6 132 

Job xxvi: 7 50 

Jobxxvi:13 28 

Job xxviii: 25 51 

Job xxxiii: 4 28 

Job xxxiii: 6 53 

Job xxxviii: 7 58 

PSAI.MS. 

Psa. ii: 2, 3 357 

Psa. ii: 8, 9 272 

Psa. xxii: 10 135 

Psa. xxiv: 7-10 208 

Psa. xxxiii: 6 28,29 

Psa. xli:9 180 

Psa. lxix:21 185 

Psa. civ: 4 30 

Psa. ex: 1 207,283 

Psa. exxxix: 16 54 

Psa. cxlviii 68 

PROVERBS. 
Prov. viii 25 



TEXTUAL INDEX. 



415 



Pasre 

Prov. viii: 30 28 

Prov. viii: 31 71 

ISAIAH. 

Isa. vi:l-3 246 

Isa. vi: 1 69 

Isa. vi:8 131 

Isa. ix:6, 7 118 

Isa. ix:7 391 

Isa. xi:6-9 59 

Isa. xxiv: 1-6 347 

Isa. xl:12 29 

Isa. Hi: 14 142 

Isa. liii:2 142 

Isa. lv:8 269 

Isa. lxv:20 350 

JEREMIAH. 

Jer. iv:23 32,385 

DANIEL. 

Dan. ii:37 128, 295 

Dan. iv:35 95 

Dan. vii:9, 10 360 

Dan. viii: 13 282 

Dan. xii: 1 319 

Dan. xii: 3 316 

Dan. xii: 5, 6 282 

EZEKIEL. 

Ez. xviii: 4 228 

Ez. xxvi: 7 295 

Ez. xxviii: 12-17 82 

HOSEA. 

Hos. xi:l 128 

Hos. xii: 4 290 

AMOS. 

Amos v: 8 50 

Amos vi: 4-7 120 

Amos ix: 6 29 

MICAH. 

Mic. v:2 18 

ZECHARIAH. 

Zech. xiv: 16 352 

MATTHEW. 

Matt. Hi: 12 275 

Matt, v: 17 164 

Matt. v:38, 39 154 

Matt. vi:33 261 

Matt. vii:6 261 

Matt, vii: 13, 14 270 

Matt, viii: 11, 12 258 

Matt, viii: 17 178 

Matt. ix:13 166 

Matt. x:28 167,365 

Matt, x: 40-42 347 

Matt, xi: 11 375 



Pagra 

Matt, xii: 19 152 

Matt, xii: 48, 49 151 

Matt, xiii 2 ; 9 

Matt, xiii: 43 258 

Matt, xv: 24 154, 220 

Matt, xvi: 11, 12 260 

Matt. xvii:2 245 

Matt, xix: 4 56 

Matt, xxii: 30 353 

Matt, xxiii: 33 153, 363 

Matt, xxiv; 4-14 300 

Matt, xxiv: 9 301 

Matt, xxiv: 14 301 

Matt, xxiv: 21 319 

Matt, xxiv: 29, 30 302 

Matt, xxiv: 31 313 

Matt, xxiv: 36 134 

Matt, xxiv: 38 176 

Matt, xxv: 30 318 

Matt. xxv. 31, 46 345 

Matt, xxv: 32-34 301 

Matt, xxvi: 26-29 337 

Matt, xxvi: 38 176 

Matt, xxvi: 63, 64 164 

Matt, xxvii: 3-10 182 

Matt, xxviii: 6 192 

Matt, xxviii: 1.1, 15 233 

Matt, xxviii: 18 134 

Matt, xxviii: 19 241 

Matt, xxviii: 20 159, 267 

MARK. 

Mark Hi: 27 204 

Mark iv: 26, 29 278 

Mark iv: 28 165 

Mark vii: 28 351 

Mark x: 32 172 

Mark xi: 24 197 

Mark xiii: 19 48 

Mark xiv: 7 239 

LUKE. 

Luke ii: 9-17 137 

Luke ii: 11 22 

Lukeii: 19 138 

Luke ii: 40 140 

Lukeiii:22 146 

Luke Hi: 38 87 

Lukeiv:3 149 

Lukeiv: 18 204 

Lukex: 16 164 

Lukex: 18 209 

Lukex: 20 362 

Lukex: 26-28 220 

Luke xi: 13 165 



4i6 



TEXTUAL INDEX. 



Page 

Luke xii: 45-48 318 

Luke xiii: 25-27 313 

Luke xvi: 26 20o 

Luke xvi: 31 324 

Luke xvii: 20 24 263 

Luke xvii: 26-30 301 

Luke xvii: 34-37 312 

Luke xx: 35 310 

Luke xxi: 23, 24 254 

Luke xxi: 26 301 

Luke xxii: 30 353 

Luke xxii: 43 180 

Luke xxii: 53 173 

Luke xxiii: 43 188 

Luke xxiv: 44 48 

Luke xxiv: 49 201 

Luke xxiv: 50 200 

Luke xxiv: 50, 51 201 

JOHN. 

Johni: 1 17 

John i:3, 4 25 

Johni: 10 69 

Johni: 14 26 

Johni: 16 147,252 

Johni: 51 145 

Johniii: 18 361 

John iii: 32 145 

Johniii: 34 148 

John iv: 34 167 

John v: 19 145, 395 

John v: 24 314 

John vi: 38 167 

John vi:40 361 

John vi:54 107 

John vi: 62 207 

John vi: 63 292 

John viii: 28,38 145 

John viii: 44 366 

John viii: 56 99 

Johnx: 10 1% 

John x: 17, 18 188 

Johnx: 30 163 

John xi: 51 216 

John xii: 24 65 

Johnxii:31 209 

John xii: 32 272 

John xii: 41 69 

John xiii: 13 214 

John xiv: 2 283 

John xiv: 2, 3 379 

John xiv: 6 164 

John xiv: 9 164 

John xiv: 10, 11 145 



John xiv: 16, 17 251 

John xiv: 12 148 

John xiv: 28 395 

John xv: 15 372 

John xv: 18, 19 270 

John xvi: 7 209 

John xvi: 12-15 2 3 

John xvi: 12-14 220 

John xvi: 26 250 

John xvii: 5 19, 133, 246 

John xvii: 24 20 

John xx: 17 193 

John xx: 20 195 

John xx: 21-23 195 

John xx: 22 54 

John xx:29 375 

Johnxx: 30,31 161, 198 

ACTS. 

Acts i: 8, 9 201 

Acts i: 18-20 181 1-2 

Actsii: 1-4 210 

Acts ii: 20 301 

Actsii: 27-31 203 

Actsii: 33 209 

Acts iii: 19-21 219 

Actsiv: 12 236 

Acts xi: 18 266 

Acts x: 35 227 

Acts x: 41 197 

Acts xvii 222 

Acts xvii: 31 235 

Acts xx: 28 243 

Acts xxiv: 24, 25 222 

ROMANS. 

Rom. i: 20 67 

Rom. i: 25 27 113 

Rom. ii: 12-16 362 

Rom. ii: 14, 15 226 

Rom. iii: 9-12 226 

Rom. iii: 25,26 228 

Rom. iv: 11 69 

Rom. vi: 11-14 253 

Rom. iv: 14, 133 

Rom. iv: 15 205 

Rom. v: 12 227 

Rom. v: 13 205 

Rom. v: 13,14 204 

Rom. v: 18, 19 227 

Rom. v: 20 80 

Rom. vi: 4 243 

Rom. vii: 6 291 

Rom. viii: 18-21 349 

Rom. viii: 21 388 



TEXTUAL INDEX. 



417 



Pare 

Rom. viii: 26 251 

Ron. viii: 29 378 

Rom. viii: 33-35 243 

Rom. viii: 34 247 

Rom. ix: 20, 21 53 

Rom. ix: 22 366 

Rom. x: 9 236 

Rom. x: 12 218 

Rom. xi: 16 211 

Rom. xi: 25 254 

Rom. xv: 8 220 

I. CORINTHIANS. 

I. Cor. i: 17 133 

I. Cor. ii: 2 215, 223,236 

I. Cor. ii: 3-7-9 56 

I. Cor. iii: 11-15 317 

I. Cor. iii: 18 378 

I. Cor. iv:5 317 

I. Cor. v:6 8 260 

I. Cor. v: 7,8 224 

I. Cor. vi:2, 3 314 

I. Cor. vi:2, 3 360 

I Cor. x: 1-13 224 

I Cor. x:4 69 

I Cor. x: 17 211 

I. Cor. xi: 19 275 

I Cor. xii: 3 215 

I Cor. xii: 11 147 

I. Cor. xii: 27 255 

I Cor. xv 66 

I Cor. xv: 17 206 

I Cor. xv: 20 243 

I- Cor. xv: 22 128, 336 

I. Cor. xv: 22-24 309 

I- Cor. xv:24 28 395 

I. Cor. xv: 43-44 191 

I. Cor. xv: 45-48 73 

I. Cor. xv. 5153 311 

I. Cor. xvi:22 236 

II. CORINTHIANS. 

II. Cor. iii: 6 291 

II. Cor. iii 6-8 291 

II. Cor. iv: 5 215 

II. Cor. v: 10 314 

II. Cor. v: 16 220 

II. Cor. v: 17 36,243 

II. Cor. v:19 229,232 

II. Cor. ix: 3 133 

II. Cor. xiii:5 252 

GALATIANS. 

Gal. I: 11, 12 214 

Gal. ii: 20 253 

Gal. iii: 5, 14 197 



Paee 

Gal. iii: 13 217 

Gal. iii: 24 127 

Gal. iii: 28 218 

Gal. iv:5 217 

Gal. iv: 19 252 

Gal. v: 17 ^52 

EPHESIANS. 

Eph. i: 3-5 20 

Eph. i: 18, 19 378 

Eph. ii: 1, 2 270 

Eph. ii: 7 378 

Eph. ii: 10 36 

Eph. ii: 19-22 256 

Eph. ii: 20-22 374 

Eph. iii: 10 282 

Eph. iii: 10, 11 78 

Eph. iii. 14, 15 403 

Eph. iii: 19 377 

Eph. iii. 20 374 

Eph. iii: 21 370 

Eph. iv:7 147 

Eph. iv: 8-10 204 

Eph. iv:9 203 

Eph. iv: 13 377 

Eph. iv:24 36 

Eph. v: 25-31 242 

Eph. v:27 376 

Eph. vi: 12 173-176 

PHIUPPIANS. 

Phil, ii: 6 8 133 

Phil, ii: 9-10 373 

COI/3SSIANS. 

Col. i: 15 22 

Col. i: 16,17 59 

Col. i: 17 24 

Col. i: 18 22 

Col. i: 20 230 

Col. i: 23 267 

Col. i: 26, 27 252 

Col. ii: 9 1*7 

Col. ii: 14 224 

Col. iii: 2, 3 287 

Col. iii: 10 36 

I. THESSALONIANS. 

I. Thes. iv: 12-18 306 

II. THRSSALONIANS. 

II. Thes. i: 7-10 343 

II. Thes. ii: 110 3()l 

II. Thes. i.: 4 333 

I. TIMOTHY. 

I.Tim, vi: 15 295 

II. TIMOTHY. 

II. Tim, i:9 21 



4i8 



TEXTUAL INDEX. 



Page 
HEBREWS. 

Heb. i: 2 21 

Heb. i:6 136 

Heb. i:7 30 

Heb. ii: 10 143 

Heb. ii: 10, 11 188 

Heb. ii: 14-17,18 142 

Heb. ii: 28 24 

Heb. iv:8 128 

Heb. v:7 178 

Heb. v:8 188 

Heb. v: 10 128 

Heb. vii: 18, 19 224 

Heb. viii:5 298 

Heb. ix: 11 217 

Heb. ix:23 208,298 

Heb. ix:24 208 

Heb. x:5-7 132 

Heb. xi:2 36 

Heb. xi: 7 95 

Heb. xi: 10 99 

Heb. xi:33 98 

Heb. xi:35 310 

Heb. xii: 1 78 

Heb. xii: 2 372 

Heb. xii: 4 174 

JAMES. 

James i: 18 399 

I. PETER. 
I. Pet. i: 12. . . .78, 130, 282, 283 

I. Pet. i: 18-20 20 

I. Pet. ii: 9 243 

I. Pet. iii: 18-20 203 

I. Pet. iv:6 203 

II. PETER. 

II. Pet. ii: 12 366 

II. Pet. iii: 3, 4 301 

II. Pet. iii: 7, 10-12 364 

I. JOHN. 

I. John i: 2 18 

I. Johnii:2 249 

I. Johnii: IS 270 

I. Johnii: 16 149,270 

I. John iii: 2 378 

I. John v: 8 99 

JUDE. 

Jude6 360 

Judel2, 13 363 

THE REVELATION. 

Rev. i: 1, 2 294 

Rev. i:3 293 

Rev. i: 5 22 



Pajre 

Rev. i:8 295 

Rev. i: 13-16 245,256 

Rev. iii: 21 360 

Rev. v:9, 10: 353 

Rev. v: 11-14 209 

Rev. vi 300 

Rev. vi:9 301,335 

Rev. vi: 15-17 302 

Rev. vii: 9-17 320 

Rev. viii, ix., 323 

Rev. ix:6 324 

Rev. ix:20,21 324 

Rev. ix:21 332 

Rev. xi: 1,2 344 

Rev. xi: 3-10 324, 344 

Rev. xi:15 294 

Rev. xii: 1 344 

Rev. xii: 10 250, 294 

Rev. xiii:4-8 325 

Rev. xiii: 7, 8, 10, 15, 17... .329 

Rev. xiv:4, 5 376 

Rev. xiv:6, 7 329 

Rev. xiv:12, 13 329 

Rev. xv:2, 3 330 

Rev. xvi: 2-21 331 

Rev. xvi: 9, 11, 21 332 

Rev. xvi: 12 301 

Rev. xvi: 14-16 338 

Rev. xvii 332 

Rev. xvii: 3-6 326 

Rev. xvii: 8 362 

Rev. xvii: 16-18 301 

Rev. xviii 328, 334 

Rev. xviii: 4 334 

Rev. xix: 6-9 337 

Rev. xix: 11-21 337, 341 

Rev. xix: 12 373 

Rev. xix: 13 25 

Rev. xx: 1-3 341 

Rev. xx:4 6 307,335 

Rev. xx: 7-10 357 

Rev. xx: 11- 13 359 

Rev. xx: 15 363 

Rev. xxi: 1 383 

Rev. xxi: 8 362,364 

Rev. xxi: 3-5 386,388 

Rev. xxi: 10-27 381 

Rev. xxi: 24-27 387 

Rev. xxi: 26 387 

Rev. xxii: 1-5 381 

Rev. xxii: 2 387 

Rev. xxii: 12 316 

Rev. xxii: 17, 18 293 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: July 2005 

PreservationTechnolog.es 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724) 779-21 1 1 



